The Robber Baron
by Wilsalx
Summary: With the help of her friends Richard the woodsman, Javier the guardsman and Kevin the apprentice mage Katherine is ready to avenge the murder of her parents in a raid on their village 15 years ago and rid the Kingdom of Manhattan of the Robber Baron for good.
1. Chapter 1

East Village is a small peaceful place, home to only 20 or so houses, various small shops, and The Old Haunt Inn. It is surrounded by outlying farms which provide for the village and the city of Tribeca in the kingdom of Manhattan. The village square is home to the small well that supplies most of the village with it's water.

The mill just east of the village outskirts has a waterwheel that draws water from the East River that turns the gears to drive the grindstone in order to mill the wheat into flour so the local baker can make the bread for the village.

The Old Haunt Inn has it's own water well out back in the stabling yards, as it requires much more water than the rest of the village. Weary travelers stop off here on their way north and can stable their horses or get a hot meal, a room for the night, and even a warm bath. In fact most of the villagers also take a bath here as if is much preferred to hauling water from the village and waiting for it to heat.

Just across the village square from The Old Haunt is the guardhouse, with an alarm bell on the wall out front. In the event of a raid the alarm bell would be rung and the villagers would all disappear into hidden basements and the local guards and other men fit enough to fight would come out to meet the threat.

There is a butcher and baker next to each other and a general wares store right next to the guardhouse. A small blacksmith is situated behind The Old Haunt and caters to all the villagers and traveler's who stay at the inn although most of their work usually consists of re-shoeing horses or repairing pots and pans for the villagers.

A mile to the north of the village lies a great forest, known locally as central park although no-one knows why, it's just what it has always been known as. Maybe it's because it's right in the center of the kingdom. It's home to all manner of thieves and other brigands and most people only venture inside if they have to pass through in large numbers with mercenary guards. On the other side of the forest is the small city of Morningside Heights, ruled by Lord William Bracken.

To the south of East Village lies the great city of Tribeca, with it's towering walls and great towers. Ruled by Robert(Bob to his friends)Wheldon, benevolent King of the island of Manhattan. It is here that most of the wares from the farmers of East Village are sold, and the local guardsmen originally hail from, although most have long since settled in the village after marrying local women.

Out back of one of the small houses in the village a young woman trains with sword against a dummy that has seen many hard hits over the years. Sweat glistens on her brow and neckline, testament to how hard has trained in the last 2 hours. Katherine is only 22 years of age but has trained hard for the last 15 years in order to better protect herself in the event of a raid on the village.

As she trains she remembers the raid on the village 15 years ago that took her parents from her…

* * *

_15 years ago__…_

_Katherine was playing with her best friend Alexis just outside of the barn of her family__'s modest farm with the newest batch of pups from the family dog. The collie pups were jumping all over 7 year old Katherine and 5 year old Alexis, and the girls were giggling and squealing with delight whenever the young dogs noses or tongues met their skin._

_Johanna, Katherine__'s mother smiled softly as she watched on out of the kitchen window, her young daughter was such a delight to her and as she was an only child was all the more precious. Johanna always wished that she could have had more children but after a difficult labor with Katherine was told it was unlikely she would ever be able to have more children._

_Glancing over towards the paddock with the sheep inside Johanna saw her husband, Jim, looking intently out toward the great East River on the other side of the fields from the barn and was startled when he started running toward the girls shouting __"Raiders, raiders are coming, get to the inn!"_

_Johanna flew out the door towards the girls calling for them, __"Katie! Alexis! Get to the village, you must warn Captain Montgomery at the guardhouse!" Katherine and Alexis ran to the barn where her father had saddled their only horse and was dragging it outside. When the girls got to Jim he said "Katie, ride to the village as fast as you can, warn the captain and tell him there are raiders coming down the river in boats and he needs to sound the alarm bell to warn everyone, then get inside the inn and head straight to the basement and hide in the passageway behind the barrels" "What about you and mommy? you need to come too!" said young Katherine._

"_Mommy and I will be there as soon as we can, we will come into the village from the other side so we aren't seen by the raiders. You and Alexis must go quickly, there is no time to waste on idle now, warn the village and the guardsmen."_

_Katherine was afraid but she did as she we was bid by her father. Just as Alexis was lifted on to the horse behind Katherine, Johanna arrived carrying a small pack for herself and her husband so they could leave as soon as the girls were on their way. Katherine was afraid for her parents, she had never been sent into the village on her before and had tears in her eyes as she said __"I love you Mommy, I love you Daddy! Please hurry!" _

_Johanna and Jim gave their daughter a quick kiss on the head and slapped the horse on it__'s flank, making it startle and break into a run towards the village. Katherine looked back towards her parents as the horse galloped, her parents were still standing there, facing where the girls went on the horse, but it was what was beyond her parents that had the tears falling from her eyes in earnest… 4 raiders armed with axes, swords and bows were crossing the fields towards the house on horseback and her parents hadn't seen them. "Mommy… Daddy… no…" she whispered, then unable to look back any longer, not wanting to see what came next, she turned her head and urged the horse on faster towards the village._

_Arriving in the village square shouting Raiders at the top of their voices, Katherine and Alexis all but fall of their horse as Captain Montgomery and his son Robert come running out of the guardhouse to find out what all the shouting is about. Upon hearing the girls panicked voices Robert runs and starts ringing the alarm bell on the wall beside the guardhouse door and shouting __"Raiders! Raiders! Women and children to the inn, men to arms! To arms!"_

"_Where are your parents Katie?" asks Captain Montgomery as people start to burst from their homes and businesses, heading towards the inn or the guardhouse. "Th…they we…were still at home, getting r…re…ready to l…leave after s…s…sending us on the horse to war…warn every…one" she replies, her voice quivering and tears welling up in her eyes, "But when I look…looked b…b…back there were men on ho…horses coming towards them with swords and axes and b…bows. Mommy and Da…Daddy didn't see th…them."_

"_Head inside the inn, and get into hiding with the rest of the women and children, my men and I will turn away the raiders and I'll send a couple of the men out to your farm and look for your parents" Montgomery replied gently. "My son's wife Sarah will look after you in the mean 't worry honey, I'm sure they'll be just fine."_

_After heading inside The Old Haunt and running down into the basement with Sarah, the short, blond haired wife of Captain Montgomery__'s son, the girls are urged through a hidden door behind some large barrels, down some rough hewn steps into a cavernous space lined with makeshift cots and baskets of food, wine and water._

_The next morning after Montgomery__'s son Robert came down into the cavern and gave the all clear, Katherine flew up the steps, through the door and straight towards Captain Montgomery._

_Seeing Katherine running towards him, Captain Montgomery gets a sad helpless look in his eyes and kneels down to be level with her, __"I'm sorry Katie… there was nothing we could do, your mommy and daddy were both already gone when my men got there."_

"_No… no… they're not gone. THEY'RE NOT GONE!" Katherine screams at him and starts running for the farm, tears streaming down her face. _

_She could see the smoke even before she could see the farm, big black billowing clouds of it, rising high into the sky. When she got there, there was nothing left but a few smoldering ruins that used to be the house and barn. The livestock had all been slaughtered and the fields set on fire._

_Outside the barn she saw two mounds of raised earth with markers at one end, James and Johanna Beckett scribed into the cross sections. _

_It was true, her parents were gone._

_A/N: Ok, so this is my first ever attempt at writing fanfic, or anything for that matter, so please let me know what you think. constructive criticism is welcome. Thanks._


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you to everyone who followed or reviewed. As I said at the end of the last chapter, I've never written a thing in my life before, so this is completely new to me and all comments are welcome, so long as the feedback is honest and the criticism is constructive.

I'll be spending a couple of chapters explaining how all of the main characters have gotten to where they are at the moment and the relationships between them, so please bear with me and we'll get in to the main plot line soon.

* * *

She remembered how Montgomery had come to find her,and held her tightly to his chest as she cried, before eventually leading her back to the village and into his home. She had been there ever since, living with Montgomery, his son Robert, and Robert's wife Sarah. He's treated her like his own daughter and she's appreciated it, she really has, but it's just not the same.

She had nightmares for months after she lost her parents, she can still see the raiders coming up behind them even now, weapons drawn, and her parents not having a clue what was about to happen, so intent on making sure the children got away safely before readying themselves to leave too.

Alexis' mother Martha had offered to let her come stay with her family but Katherine had declined, she had wanted to stay close to the Montgomery's so she could train with weapons, but she kept that to herself.

She had pestered Montgomery constantly to teach her how to use a sword, or a bow, but he had always refused. That is up until she turned 13. He had come through the door on her birthday carrying a wooden practice sword and handed it to her. "If you are so determined to fight, you should at least learn to do it properly" he had said, then took her out back of the guardhouse and shown her how to hold and use the sword properly.

It had been a lot of swinging it at fresh air to begin with, then at a practice dummy. He had her doing exercises and grunt work at the various stores and farms around the village to build her strength, encouraging her to run every day. She had progressed quickly onto weighted practice swords such as the guardsmen themselves used, then a steel short sword. She sparred with one of the guardsmen, Javier, with weapons and without. The sparring with practice knives for close up work was the hardest, she hated knives but her speed and agility made her proficient with it in next to no time. Now there wasn't a guard who could best her with sword or knife in the whole village.

She had learned the bow, Montgomery explaining to her that there is a good advantage in using the bow on a foe man from distance instead of waiting for him to get close so you can swing a lump of metal at him. "Hit him with an arrow to the heart and you won't need to hit him with your sword, or hit him in the leg and his movement is impaired when in close combat with him" he had said, "Use his weakness against him so he can't use your's against you."

Now there was only one person better than her with a bow in the village, the woodsman, Richard, Alexis' older brother and Martha's son. He's 3 years older and a few inches taller than Katherine but after she had surpassed her teachers with the bow he had offered to teach her what he knew. They had gone to the woods surrounding his family home and he had taught her patience, and how to find exactly the right time to release her arrow, he had taught her how to be stealthy in the forest. She could move around without making a sound and leaving no tracks for anyone but an expert to follow. He had taught her to track, he had taught her to hunt,he had taught her how to pluck a goose and fletch her own arrows, he had taught her to be a better person, he had taught her to love.

Over the years that they had been hunting and practicing together out in the woods, sometimes for days at a time, they had grown closer. At first she thought he was an arrogant ass, the first few times they had entered the woods he had shown her what to look for on the ground when tracking and then he would go ahead of her and tell her to track him down using the skills he had shown her. The only problem was he went ahead to a point she couldn't see him, then climbed a tree and dropped down behind her when she passed whispering "You're dead" into her ear as he sneaked up on her and held his knife into her ribs, hilt first. She's lost count of how many times he's 'killed' her now.

She eventually knew to check everywhere, above her in the trees, in the underbrush around her feet, she used all of her senses of sight, smell and hearing. She got to be able to 'feel' when he was around her and had on more than a few occasions turned the tables on him and 'killed' him.

They had become good friends over time, bonding over Alexis and the thrill of the hunt. Things had changed between them 8 months ago when they had been out on a week long hunt. Katherine knew they were heading towards something more, they had been for years now, but one night in the middle of a storm Katherine had gone to a nearby river to bathe when a log had come flowing down the river behind her, sped on by the faster than normal waters. It had hit her with a glancing blow on the leg but it was enough to pull her underwater and her lungs had filled with water when she gasped for air before being pulled under again.

She had called for Richard in panic, as she was pulled underwater for a third time, he had come running and without thinking twice threw himself into the water and pulled her out. She was unconscious when they got to shore so he had given her mouth to mouth and tried pumping the water from her lungs. It wasn't until she had coughed up the water from her lungs and she was breathing properly that he realized she was completely naked.

Richard felt the colour rise up his neck and cheeks, as he quickly turned around stammering "I'm sorry, I should have covered you, all I could think about was getting you out of the water and… you weren't breathing." He quickly located her clothes and handed them to her blindly, his hand brushing cool, wet skin, when she stepped closer. "Hey, it's OK. It's my own fault for being stupid enough to try and bathe in the middle of a storm" she breathed into his ear from behind, her hand coming up to rub his arm gently. "I could use a blanket to warm me up though." "I had a fire lit at the camp, ready for you coming on, lets' head back" he replied.

As they set out for the camp, side by side, Katherine slipped her small hand into his and marveled at how well her fingers fit between his larger ones. He glanced down at her and she smiled softly at the look of wonder on his face. Back at camp, they sat right next to each other and talked quietly into the night. When it came time to sleep she turned to him and kissed him on the corner of his mouth, lingering a little longer than he thought she would, "Good night Richard" she said. "Good night Katie."

From that night they had gotten closer, they spent more and more time together, training, walking, laughing, joking and then 3 months ago they had made love for the first time. They had been out on another hunting trip and decided to bathe together in a nearby stream, they had seen each other naked numerous times, but this time it was different. They both knew there was no stopping this time. They had made love the first time in the stream, her legs wrapped around his waist, as she bit into his neck to keep from crying out. They had 2 more rounds that night by the camp fire, underneath the canopy of the trees, before passing out in each others arms, spent and satiated. Kate had found it a little sore when walking the next day, but she had walked with a grin on her face.

* * *

As she tired from her practice and her exercise, she saw Richard walking towards her, his bow slung at his back and a long hunting knife at his belt. She put up her sword and walked towards him with a smile on her face, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately when she reached his side. "Hey, when did you get back?" she asked. "About an hour or so ago, I just dropped my catch off at Mervin's butcher shop and the rest went to Jenny over at The Old Haunt."

"Good haul then?" she asks. "Pretty good, yeah. 4 rabbits, 2 duck, and I managed to get a deer in the woods just out back of the cottage. I was surprised it came so close, I usually have to go looking for them. Alexis is in the village too dropping off the latest batch of herbs that Lanie asked for. We're going to meet up over at The Haunt for some of Jenny's famous broth and a drink before we head back out to the cottage if you're interested in joining us?" "Mmm, sounds good. I've missed you, and it'll be good to see Alexis again. I haven't seen either of you in weeks."

"It's settled then, you want to get cleaned up before we head over or do you want to use the bathhouse at The Haunt?" "The Haunt sounds good, the water is warmer there anyway." "Let's head over then, I'm starving. Just so you know, I missed you too. It's not the same out there without my partner with me, it gets lonely and cold and night." He says as he kisses her softly on the lips before slipping an arm around her waist and they head across the square to The Old Haunt.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Kind of a shorter chapter this time around. I've got some longer ones planned and the story will be moving on in the next chapter and we should be starting to see longer chapters from now on too. Thanks to everyone that has viewed and reviewed and a big thank you to Sancturia for the offer of help if I need it. :) Hope everyone had a happy Christmas and that you all have a great new year when it comes.**

Sitting in The Old Haunt, Katherine, Richard, and Alexis are joined by Lanie, the local healer, and Javier, the guardsman - Lanie's boyfriend. Lanie, is a petite, dark skinned, dark haired woman from the neighboring kingdom of Brooklyn, known for it's amazing parks and gardens. Before coming to Manhattan and East Village, she had attended the Brookdale healing center, where she had studied herb lore for making medicines and poultices, but also the rare and much sought after art of magical healing.

* * *

3 years ago...

Once she learned of the plight of the people in towns and villages in the kingdom of Manhattan she had petitioned the masters of the healing arts to allow her to go to the aid of the people, to which they had readily agreed for they too had heard of their plight. Once she had arrived in the great city of Tribeca, she had made inquiries as to where her skills would be most needed and was informed that there were towns and villages farther to the north, close to the great forest Central Park that were regularly pillaged and raided, and so she had made her way northward and after three days of travel found herself in East Village. She had ventured into the local tavern, The Old Haunt, and was informed that most of the area between the village and Central Park was now a no mans land and almost no-one lived there due to the raids. She had decided to settle in East Village where she soon befriended Katherine and Alexis.

Alexis and her mother Martha were Lanie's main source of herbs for her remedies and poultices although she did try to maintain a small garden specifically for the harder to grow herbs which she could work her magics on to help them grow in this area. She also had a deal with Javier's best friend Kevin who was an apprentice magician in the capitol city, Tribeca. He had long since learned to travel over distance in the blink of an eye by using his willpower alone, but he could only travel to places he had already visited in person. Kevin would come once a week to see if Lanie needed any new magical supplies and if she required them he would return to the city and transport them himself if she didn't require too much.

Javier was a man of medium height, shorter than both Katherine and Richard by a good few inches, but what he lacked in height he made up for in ferocity in a battle. He was skilled in sword and knife work, could use axes and maces but was mediocre with a bow. Richard and indeed, Katherine also, far surpassed his skill in archery. He had short dark hair and even his muscles had muscles, he had traveled from the far away land of Peekskill to the northwest where he had trained as a soldier until he became bored of sitting in a garrison with nothing to do, so he resigned and headed to the island Kingdom of Manhattan as he had heard from traveling merchants that there were many battles there in which he could prove his skill.

He had been readying to leave the city of Tribeca when Lanie had arrived at the city gate looking to hire an escort north, to the area near to Central Park and he had readily agreed to act as escort, he was heading that way anyway after all. It didn't hurt that she was damn fine on the eyes too, and the way she filled that dress… Javier was going to have trouble keeping his eyes on the surrounding area and off of his traveling companion. He didn't have much luck at all until they met a young, sandy haired man with piercing blue eyes, attired in robes on the second day of their journey. He had introduced himself as Kevin and proclaimed to be an apprentice magician.

Javier hadn't believed a word he said until Kevin decided to prove the truth of his claim and duly cast a cantrip under his breath and the next thing Javier knew he was dancing along the road like his pants were on fire. Lanie laughed at him and Kevin had a smirk on his face while Javier screamed "Not cool dude! Not cool at all!" at Kevin. Kevin canceled the minor incantation and Javier was slowly able to settle down, shooting Kevin black looks and scowls for the whole of the next day.

Within 2 days of arriving in East Village Lanie had set up shop as a practitioner of the healing arts and Javier had joined the local guard. Kevin had made himself known to Captain Montgomery and was now able to transport himself to and from the village at will as he had familiarized himself with the area.

* * *

Now as the friends, with the exception of Kevin, who is back in Tribeca for a few days, all settled around their table in The Old Haunt, they spoke of how things were going within each of their chosen professions. Alexis proudly proclaimed "Lanie has agreed to teach me what she can of the healing arts. I already know most of the herb lore required, but now I can learn more of the actual healing aspect too."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Massive thank you to Sancturia for beta-ing over this chapter for me. As a new writer it's a massive help to have some one read over your work, tell you what's going right and what's going wrong. What needs improvement, where the story is too slow or the characters are not developing properly. Thank you once again to everyone who has read/reviewed/followed so far. The set-up is mostly over and the plot moves forward from here. Enjoy and please leave me your thoughts! Also, you can find me on Tumblr as Wilsalx70. Feel free to follow me there :)**

* * *

Javier is on guard duty in the village outskirts when he sees a stranger walking along the road from Tribeca to East Village. The man is tall, a few inches over 6 feet by the look of him, he's wearing long flowing robes of a cream color with a red design around the bottom hem, collar, sleeve cuffs and neckline, it has a cowl that seems to have the same design etched into it around the edges. The cowl is lowered in the midday sun as it too hot to have it covering his head. Javier sees the dark brown hair and the angular features on the mans face as he comes closer, he appears to be a handsome man, which means he needs to be kept away from Lanie, or kicked straight out the other side of the village as far as Javier is concerned.

As the man approaches Javier, he challenges him and asks where he is headed. "What's your business in East Village?" he asks. The stranger replies "My name is Josh, and I am a healer traveling north to help those less fortunate than myself that have suffered much hardship caused by all of these raids." "Then I should take you to our healer that you may better acquaint yourself with the area and go where you would be able to help most." Says Javier and proceeds to lead Josh to Lanie's small storefront.

Once inside Josh finds himself looking at a beautiful young lady with flaming red hair and just can't stop staring at her until he hears a voice coming from a doorway towards the rear of the store "Josh? What are you doing here? I thought you were still at Brookdale?." Josh startles and turns to see Lanie standing in the doorway, "I was sent by the masters as were a few others so we may better aid the people of this region that are sick or injured. Quite a few people wanted to volunteer after you departed and your mission was made known." "Well I'm glad that more people felt the need to come here, the help is badly needed, and the raids are have been increasing over the last few months." "Aren't you going to introduce your lovely friend to me Lanie?" Josh asks?

Lanie rolls her eyes at Josh and says "Josh, this is Alexis, my apprentice, she is also the supplier of all of the healing herbs you see in my store. She grows them at her family home along with her mother. Alexis this is Josh, he was at Brookdale Healing Center with me, and used to date one of my girlfriends there for a while." Javier breathes a sigh of relief when he hears this, he didn't even realize that he had been holding his breath the whole time this exchange had taken place.

"It's nice to meet you Josh" Alexis says kind of shyly. "You too Alexis" Josh replies, "You grow your own herbs at home? Maybe you could show me sometime, I may need a few to take with me when I head onward in my journey." "Sure, I can do that, we can go tomorrow if you're free. I'll even give you the same deal as I give to Lanie if you decide to purchase any of the herbs we have ready." Alexis says. "I'm free and I look forward to it" replies Josh.

"Have you decided where you are staying yet while you are in town?" Lanie asks Josh. "Not yet, The guardsman brought me straight here when I came into the village and I haven't had a chance to find anything." "Well you should be able to find lodgings over at The Old Haunt, the inn across the square. It's clean, has good food, and is run and owned by Jenny, a good friend of mine. She'll be sure to give you a reasonable rate and a good meal and make you feel welcome while you are here. Do you know how long you will be staying?" "I'm not sure yet", Josh answers, "I'd really like to find out more about the surrounding are while I'm here and find out where I could be of the most help." "Well", Lanie says, "we can talk about that some more over the next few days. I'll let you know as much as I can, and maybe some of my friends and the captain of the guards can fill in the pieces of information I'm lacking."

"Okay, well I'll head over to the inn and get settled in and we'll see where we go from there. Bye for Lanie, and Alexis, I shall see you in the morning to see the herbs you have on offer." And with that Josh departs for The Old Haunt in search of a room for next few nights and some hot food and a bath.

* * *

The next morning Josh comes out of The Old Haunt and heads back over to Lanie's store and meets up with Alexis ready to head out to her family's cabin and see the herb garden. Leaving the village on the road heading west they travel for roughly 35-40 minutes, walking at a leisurely stroll when they come to a section of the road that is wooded on the left hand side. A few minutes later they turn onto a narrow path that heads into the woods and after a further 10 minutes walk they come to a small clearing with a small cabin off to the right hand side. The cabin is made of logs, and is around 20-30 feet in length and maybe 15 feet deep, with a door in the center of the front wall and windows on either side. There is a stone chimney coming out of the center of the roof with trails of smoke coming from it. Off to the left of the cabin is an area that is fenced off and Josh can see a garden on the other side of the fence. "This is where you live?" Josh asks. "Yes, I've lived here all my life, it's nice and peaceful and we only ever have to worry about the occasional bear or coyote coming in from the woods. "That doesn't happen often though, the smell the smoke from the fire and it usually keeps them away." Says Alexis. "I like it, I could easily see myself living somewhere like this" Josh replies.

Alexis leads Josh through the small gate in the fence into the herb garden and Josh marvels at the amount and variety of herbs that are planted there. There is pretty much every herb he could possibly need and he agrees to take a small selection of each for now, promising to purchase more before he moves on to his final destination. Once back in the village Josh asks Alexis if he could buy her a drink or a meal at The Old Haunt as he really likes her, but is rebutted as Alexis informs him that she has a boyfriend that she has been seeing for almost 8 months now and it's pretty serious. Josh takes this news in his stride and they part for the day agreeing to remain friends.

Over the next 3 months, Josh still hasn't moved on from East Village even though he knows where he is needed most and also has as many supplies as he could possibly carry with him when he does eventually decide to move on. He only ever leaves the village to wander around the immediate area, learning as much as he can from the people on the outlying farms and ranches.

* * *

Richard and Katherine are out on one of their hunting trips together as the village is running low on supplies of fresh game, they have been gone for almost a week and are due back in the village in 2 days time with whatever they have managed to hunt or snare. So far they have had a bountiful hunt and have managed to catch several rabbits, wild turkey, ducks and a young stag. It's enough to keep the village supplied for around a week when combined with the meat from the cows or sheep that can be slaughtered so they are happy to take the next day to themselves and just be the young lovers that they are instead of hunters looking for game. They have a few more traps they will check on their way home anyway and at least some of them should have caught something.

As the young couple share the beginning of their evening together it approaches close of business for most of the stores in the village when the alarm bell in the square starts to ring constantly signaling an emergency of some kind. Running from the guardhouse Javier sees Robert ringing the bell and a band of horsemen and footmen coming rushing into the village from the north. Immediately realizing that it is a raiding party he starts calling the men of the village and the guards to arms and shouting at the women to get themselves and the children to safety.

The womenfolk and children immediately come out of their homes and start running quickly to The Old Haunt and the safety of it's secret basement while the men appear bearing swords and axes or bows. The men bearing the bows run for The Old Haunt and head up the stairs to the small storage space behind the curtain at the rear of the building where there is ladder that can be used to access the roof, giving them the advantage of shooting their arrows down onto the enemy while staying out of reach of swords and axes.

The men with melee weapons stand together and wait for the raiders to approach their position and take up defensive stances, essentially abandoning the rest of the village in favor of protecting the women and children inside the inn. The raiders on foot charge their position while the men on horseback ride through and search the rest of the village. Outside The Old Haunt, the defenders are giving a good accounting of themselves, having already killed 6 raiders while only taking a few injuries themselves. The bowmen on the roof, are firing down into the raiders or picking off men on horseback.

Two of the horsemen appear back in the village square swinging ropes around their heads that have wicked looking barbed spikes attached to the head and let fly with them into the defensive wall of the village men. One rope passes through the thigh of one of the men while another young man, around 20-21 years old is pierced through the chest, immediately the spikes have hit their targets, the horsemen wheel their horses away and drag the men away from their friends and neighbors, screaming and shouting in agony. As the young man with the spike through is chest and dragged around the corner of a building on the outskirts of the village a smudge of red hair is seen peering out of the window of one of the building towards the stricken young man. Alexis races out of the building and toward her boyfriend, Ashley, not thinking of her own safety, but only of helping her boyfriend.

As she rounds the corner of the building and sees her lover lying on the ground, a trail of blood coming from his mouth and a pool of his blood soaking into the ground beneath him she falls to her knees, sobbing, saying his name over and over again, losing all comprehension of her surroundings until she feels a hand cover her mouth and an arm wrap around her waist and lift her from the ground. She kicks and she tries biting the hand of the man holding her but he doesn't feel a thing through the thick leather riding gloves he wears. Another man backhands her hard across the face and she slumps into her captors arms and is thrown across the knees of a raider sitting astride his horse.

Josh is trying to pull a wounded guardsman into Lanie's store to heal him when he spies out of the corner of his eye a streak of red hair on a young woman running across the village from one of the buildings close to the outskirts and sees her disappear behind the last building on the edge of the village. Realizing it is Alexis he abandons the guardsman and runs to where he last saw his friend. Running around the corner of the building he sees Alexis being thrown over the knees of a raider on horseback unconscious and 2 other raiders on foot stood in front of him. Stopping and staring in shock he realizes too late that the raiders are heading towards him seeing an unarmed man in front of them wearing only robes. The man on horseback barks an order to the men on foot and they advance on him slowly.

The raiders at The Old Haunt are slowly fought off by the defenders, the men on the roof of the building loosing arrow after arrow but their supply is slowly dwindling. The men on the ground slowly advance on the raiders as they try to drive them off. After a few heavy attacks from the men from the village the raiders turn and flee, heading out of the village as fast as they can go. Rather than give chase the defenders turn to tend to their dead and wounded. They carry the wounded into Lanie's store and then gather up their fallen comrades and neighbors and take to the small graveyard just outside the southern end of the village and proceed to bury them.

Javier remembers the two men who been pulled from the ranks of the defenders and details two of the guardsmen to search the village for them. 20 minutes after the men left to search the village one of them comes running back to Javier and tells he's needed at Lanie's store immediately. Running as quickly as he can in his armor Javier arrives at Lanie's and bursts through the door. Lanie looks up from where she is working on an unconscious Josh and says "Javi, this is more than I can handle on my own and since Josh here is out cold I'm going to need Alexis, have you seen her?" Thinking carefully Javi replies, "I haven't seen Alexis since before the attack began, I'll head down to the basement of the Haunt and see if she's there, if not then I'll send someone out to her cabin on horseback to bring her back as fast as possible." "Thanks baby" says Lanie. "Lanie… Ashley was killed in the raid, Alexis probably doesn't know yet." "Oh no, that poor girl… first her father and now her boyfriend. She was sure Ashley was going to propose soon, she's going to be devastated." "I know, hopefully Richard and Katherine will be back soon, she's going to need all of her family and friends to help get her through this" Javi says. "Yeah, go see if you can find her, but keep this from her for now. I need her mind on helping the injured men here" Lanie answers.

Javier leaves Lanie and heads over to The Old Haunt, going down into the basement and then into the hidden room behind the barrels. Looking all around for Alexis and when he doesn't see her anywhere he asks "Has anyone seen Alexis since before the raid started?" Getting a chorus of replies in the negative from the people in the room he heads back up the stairs and exits the building. Going to meet Captain Montgomery and Robert in front of the guardhouse taking stock of what needs repaired, how many injured and how many lives lost Javier delivers his report and informs Montgomery that Lanie needs help and Alexis hasn't been seen since before the raid. Montgomery tells Javier to take the fastest horse and head out to the family's cabin and bring Alexis back with as many herbs as she has prepared as they may be needed as much as she is.

* * *

Two days later Richard and Katherine arrive back in the village and the area is subdued, people are looking solemn and seem to be looking anywhere but at them. Looking at each other and feeling a sense of rising dread the pair head over to the butcher to drop off the products of their hunting trip and are informed that they should head over to Lanie's store.

Walking into the store they see Lanie tending to the men that were injured in the raid. When she sees them walk into the room Lanie drops what she is doing and runs over and hugs first Katherine and then Richard. "I'm sorry Richard, I'm so sorry" says Lanie. Richard looks at Katherine, his brow furrowed, worry clearly written across both of their faces.

"Lanie… what's happened?" "Why are you sorry? What's going on?" They both ask at the same time.

"There was a raid two days ago, they caught us by surprise. They were already entering the village by the time the alarm bell was ringing so we got the women and children into the safe room as quickly as possible while the men mounted a defense outside of The Old Haunt, archers on the roof, footmen on the ground, holding the raiders back. Some of the raiders were on horseback and had this wicked looking spike on the end of a rope that they threw at the men on the ground, one of the archers on the roof too. Once they had hit their target they turned their horses and ran towards the edge of the village dragging the men with them." Gasps fell out of both Richard and Katherine's mouths at the news.

"How many did we lose?, How many injured?" they asked at the same time. "Six dead, and four wounded… and one missing" Lanie tells them "Ashley is dead… He was pulled from the ranks of men outside of the inn when one of the spikes pierced his chest. He didn't stand a chance" she says sadly. "What of the wounded?" asks Katherine. "Josh was wounded, take a nasty cut to the leg from a sword and a nasty blow to the head. He was found unconscious and bleeding behind one of the houses on the way out of the village. He was brought back here and it took a while to patch him up, head wounds are nasty. The leg wound was the worst though. I've repaired the damage but he could walk with a limp for the rest of his life, I don't know yet, it's still healing."

"You said someone was missing, who was it Lanie? Who's missing?" asks Katherine fearfully. Taking a deep breath Lanie gives them the worst of the news she has to deliver. "When Josh came to after I had patched him up he told us that while he was helping a wounded guardsman in the square he saw a woman run towards the edge of town and behind a building. He left the guardsman and took off after the woman thinking he could get her to safety. When he ran around the corner of the building he saw three raiders, one on horseback and two on foot. The one on the horse had an unconscious woman draped across his legs and when he saw Josh he said something to the two men on foot and put his horse into a gallop, heading north. The two men on foot attacked Josh, one cutting his leg from under him with his sword and the other hitting him a glancing blow on the head. Luckily they didn't think to check if he was truly dead, because he had only been knocked out. When the two guards that Javi had dispatched found him he was still out, and Ashley was lying dead next to him."

Richard looked at Lanie, steel in his voice and his eyes "Lanie, who's missing? Who was it that was taken?"

Lanie looked at Richard and Katherine, tears in her eyes as she whispered "Alexis. They took Alexis."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you all once again for following and favouriting this story, it means a lot to see how many people seem to be enjoying it. Thank you once again to Sancturia, for the advice and moral support she's given to me on this story. And I hope I can continue to surprise her as much as I have so far. Please enjoy this installment and if you like then please a review. Also you can find me on Tumblr as Wilsalx70, where I'll try to answer any questions you may have.**

* * *

Richard and Katherine stumble out of Lanie's store in shock and practically run over to the guardhouse. They burst through the door looking for Captain Montgomery and looking for answers. Montgomery sees the looks on their faces and immediately knows that they've heard the news. "Richard, Katherine… I'm so sorry. We didn't even know she was still in the village at the time of the attack. The first we knew was when Lanie needed her help after Josh had been found injured. Javier checked The Old Haunt and when she wasn't found there I sent him straight out to the cottage on our fastest horse to fetch her back. No-one was there, not even your mother, she was out walking in the woods behind the house apparently. She's asked that I send you both to the cabin as soon as you got back. She desperately needs to talk to you both urgently."

"Was anyone sent out to look for Alexis for you discovered she was missing?" asks Richard. "Yes," Montgomery replies, "I sent Javier, Robert and two of the men from the village to follow the trail. But the horses split up into two groups and we didn't know which group had Alexis. Both were heading north though, towards Central Park Forest." "Why would they take Alexis though? They've never taken anyone before. It makes no sense" says Katherine. "I don't know." replies Richard, "But I'll be going after them and bringing her home." "You won't be going alone." Katherine says, "I'm going too."

"You should both head out and see what your mother wants before you go anywhere Richard" Says Captain Montgomery. "We will. Can you have all the information you have ready for us when we get back? Where Javier and Robert looked, where the horses split up, how many men they had with them when they left" Asks Richard. "And provisions for at least a week" says Katherine. "We can hunt but we'll move faster and cover more ground if we don't need to stop to find food." "Everything you need will be here and ready for when you get back, I give you my word" says the Captain.

Giving their thanks to the Captain, they both leave and head to the stables and saddle up a pair of horses for the short journey out to the cabin Richard shared with his mother Martha, and Alexis. Once they arrive at the cabin, they tie the horses to long tethers and stake them out on the grass out front of the cabin, where they have enough room to move around freely.

* * *

Opening the door of the cabin, they enter and find Martha sitting in a rocking chair Martha's late husband had built for her when she was heavily pregnant with Alexis to ease the pain in her back. She always claimed that when she was in this chair, Alexis had calmed down and stopped kicking as much during the months before she was born. There are tear tracks on Martha's cheeks and she doesn't appear to notice the young couple standing just inside the door looking at her worriedly.

"Mother…" says Richard quietly. Martha doesn't appear to hear him and he and Katherine move closer to her, Katherine kneeling in front of her and taking her hands in her own. "Martha…" "Katherine? Richard? When did you get here?" Martha asks in a daze. "We just arrived Mother. Captain Montgomery said you needed to speak to us urgently." "Yes, yes…" Martha replies, "Knowing you two your going to go after Alexis and try to bring her back yes?" "Yes Martha, we're going after Alexis and we're going to make whoever has her pay for taking her from us" Katherine answers quietly.

"Well then, there is something you both need to hear before you go, and neither of you are going to like it." "Whatever it is Mother it can't be so bad, just tell us and we'll be on our way to find Alexis and bring her home" says Richard. "Oh but it can be that bad Richard, and it is. It will change everything you have ever known… both of you have ever known" states Martha. "I've carried this secret with for so long, trying to forget it ever existed, trying to forget who I am." Richard and Katherine both look at each other and then at Martha, confusion in two sets of eyes, one set of piercing blue, and the other a swirling hazel color with flecks of gold. "Sit, both of you, this could take a while and it won't be easy on any of us."

"It all begins when I when I was 19, and still looking at life through rose tinted glasses. My father was away from home fighting in a huge battle, the likes of which haven't been seen in these lands in many a year. It was the battle between the King in Tribeca and the Barons in the north, who were in a state of revolt. They didn't see why they should pay a levy on their taxes to a King they rarely, if ever saw. The King wasn't like King Weldon that we all know now. The king in those days, his uncle was a ruthless man. If he wanted something he took it, if anyone resisted, he sent his army to crush them and took what he wanted anyway. Around the kingdom he built various strongholds and installed the barons that later revolted against him when he started getting too greedy with the taxes. In one of these strongholds is where I was born and raised. Anyway, while my Father was away fighting this war I fell in love with a guardsman that had been left behind to help guard the stronghold from attack. The barons may be fighting on the same side in the war but they had no problems turning on each other at the same time and attacking strongholds while the bulk of the fighting men were away fighting a war."

"It had happened a few times in the past, so there were always guards left around our stronghold whenever most of the men left. As I said, I fell in love with this young soldier, Jackson, his name was. Such a handsome man, ruggedly so even. He had piercing blue eyes that I could lose myself in for hours at a time. We would meet in secret as he could not be seen with me, and we would spend our time laughing, joking, telling each other stories of our past and making love. We were so in love, and no-one could ever find out. My father lost his life in that battle, and my younger brother took up himself the mantle of the head of our house as the eldest male. I had just turned 20 when I discovered I was pregnant, with you Richard. I didn't even notice myself until I had started to put on weight and my clothes were becoming tighter. I visited the seamstress and had my clothes altered to hide the fact that I was with child, but the seamstress betrayed me and told my brother." With a shrug and and a 'what can you do' motion of her hands, Martha continued speaking softly of her shame, "Rather than just take the seamstresses word for it he had my maids check my sheets, to look for my monthly bleed."

Katherine, seeing the toll this tale is taking on Martha, rises slowly from where she is seated and moves to get Martha some water from the bucket that had been brought in from the well earlier that morning. Handing Martha the glass, and apologizing for interrupting her story, Katherine gives Martha a swift hug, then resumes her seat next to Richard, slipping her hand into is. Martha swipes a hand across her eyes, to remove the tears that are sliding down her face and says , "Thank you darling." After another brief pause Martha continues with her story. "Two months went by and the maids had to report they had found nothing. He waited until the hall was full one evening with guests from neighboring provinces and confronted me, asking me directly in front of everyone if I was with child. I tried to refute the claim until he informed me of the seamstresses betrayal and of the maids reports of my sheets."

Martha pauses in her story to take a small sip from the water Katherine had given her before continuing, "Once I knew I was caught I told him the truth, but refused to name the father of my child. My brother banished me, I left only with the clothes on my back, and the sandals on my feet. I walked south, trying to get as far away from my family home as I possibly could. I walked for many weeks, I was slow as I was pregnant and had not the energy to move far in a day. I managed to beg food from kind farmers who could barely feed their own families but still found enough to give a pregnant woman a little comfort. I passed through the great Central Park Forest until I eventually came out the other side near a farm just a few miles to the west of here. The farmer was a man named Will, he was a kind and gentle man and he gave me carriage in his wagon to bring me here to see the local birthing mother as he could tell I was near to term.

After you were born Richard, Will stayed with me, raised you as he would his own child. He left his job at the farm and we stayed in the village for a time, while he built this cabin. We married almost a year later, he was a great man, I'll never know what I did to deserve him. As you turned 4 years old I discovered that I was once again pregnant. With Alexis this time. Will and I were overjoyed at adding to our family and you were so excited. You couldn't wait until your baby brother or sister was born." Martha, stops for a moment and seems to get lost in her thoughts of happier times, until Katherine gently touches her arm. Richard seems to be rooted to his spot, unable to move, his face getting stonier and his eyes getting harder as he listens to his mother and tries to comprehend all he's heard so far.

We lived as a family for Alexis' first 15 years of life and then there was a raid on the village. Will was in the village at the time, but the rest of us were here, at the cabin. He never returned to us. He was killed rescuing a child from a building that had been set on fire. He thought there were 2 children in the house and ran back inside to find the second when the building collapsed around him. Little did he know that the second child was in the basement safe room of The Old Haunt with her mother. And now Alexis has been taken from us in a raid too."

As Martha tells her story Katherine has tears streaming down her face, saddened by the tragedy of the life that had befallen Richards mother just for falling in love and hiding her lovers identity. Life could be so unfair and people could be so horribly cruel sometimes. "Why are you telling us this now Mother? What has this to do with Alexis' being taken by the raiders?" asks Richard. "It has everything to do with it Richard! Don't you see?" cries Martha "The man behind the taking of your sister? The man behind the deaths of Katherine's parents? The man behind all of the raids right across this kingdom? It's Lord William Bracken! **MY** brother, **YOUR **uncle!**"**

Twin gasps are heard from Richard and Katherine at Martha's revelation. Richard launches himself to his feet crying "No! This isn't possible." Katherine sits there, betrayal, shock and disbelief written all over her face. "But it is possible Richard, it's not only possible, it's the truth" Martha replies. "All these years you've known and not said a word, why Mother?" Richard demands. "I was ashamed, ashamed that someone from my family could do such terrible things. I've already lost my husband, your father, Alexis has been taken, and now you and Katherine are going chasing after them after them. These men are **dangerous **Richard! I can't lose you and Katherine too!" Martha cries out, throwing her hands in the air in frustration.

While Richard and Martha rant at each other, neither notice that Katherine has slowly gotten up and walked out of the door, leaving the cabin with tears streaming down her face. Richard and Martha finally notice that she's gone, and Richard says "I need to go find Katherine and then go get Alexis back, I'm not sure I can forgive this Mother" then walks out of the door after Katherine leaving a visibly shaken and bereft Martha in his wake. Richard exits through the door of the cabin and is surprised to see how late in the day it is, he didn't think he had been home that long. Cursing he sees that Katherine's horse is gone and hurries to get his own horse and get back to the village as fast as he can.

* * *

Arriving back in the village Richard heads to the guardhouse to find Captain Montgomery and to look for Katherine. When he enters he finds Montgomery, Javier, Kevin, and Katherine standing around a map, talking about which possible directions to take and where to start looking. As soon as he enters the room and is noticed by the others the room goes deathly quiet and Katherine won't even look at him. "Katherine… Kate… Please… I didn't know about any of this, I'm just as shocked by this as you are" Richard says. Montgomery ushers the other men out of the room to give the pair space to talk privately. "How can I believe you? Do I even really know you?" Katherine says so quietly that Richard almost doesn't hear. "Don't know… Katherine, you more than any other person alive know who I am, after everything we've shared I expected you of all people to believe I knew nothing of this. I'm as shocked by all of this as much as you are." "How can you NOT know about this? About your own family? **He had my parent****'s killed!**" she shouts. "And I'm sorry for that, I loved your parents too, as did Alexis." Richard says quietly "Nothing I say or do can bring them back, I wish I could. I would give anything to bring them back for you, make it so this never happened. But it did. I love you Katherine, and there is nothing I wouldn't do for you. Which is why I'm going to find Alexis, either with you, or on my own. And then I'm going to find and kill my uncle." Katherine slowly walks over to him, tears streaming down her face and wraps her arms around his waist and buries her face into his broad chest. "I love you too Richard, and we're going to get Alexis back. And then I'm going to avenge my parents deaths."

Exiting the guardhouse Richard and Katherine head over to Lanie's store and find Javier and Kevin talking with Josh, who seems to be arguing with them. "I'm going with you, you might need my help out there and Alexis is my friend too" says Josh. "You can barely even walk! How much help can you possibly be?" Asks Javier. "I'm a healer, I don't need to be able to swing a sword, I only need to stay out of the way, and if my services are required I'll be right there. Besides, we're going on horseback are we not?" Kevin leans over and whispers into Javier's ear "Javi, he's right, we might need him and his healing. Besides, do you really want to leave him here with Lanie?" "Okay, you can come." Javier reluctantly agrees, "But you stay out of the way if we get into a battle and if you get yourself killed I'm gonna get Kevin to bring you back to Lanie to bring you back to life so I can kill you myself!"

Richard asks Kevin "You're coming with us Kevin? I thought you would be needed here." "The king heard what happened when Captain Montgomery sent his report in" Kevin says, "He's sick of all these raids, and is determined to help his people as much as possible so I've been ordered to get as much information as possible and report back to him. And the easiest way to do that is to go with you. Plus Alexis is my friend, you guys are as close to family as I have, so I would have offered to come anyway."

Accepting Kevin's reasons and looking around the room at each and every person there and realizing that Kevin was right and these people, with the exception of Josh, who he hardly knew, were like family, and there is nothing Richard wouldn't do for them. They all head back over to the guardhouse and the map that was left there and begin planning out the best way to proceed. A couple of hours later, plans made and supplies gathered, enough to last the 5 of them a week, they are preparing to mount their horses when Captain Montgomery appears by Richard and Katherine's sides and quietly tells them "There are some people in the Flatiron district that wander the land, they are known as Nomads, they figure that if they keep moving they are less likely to be attacked. I don't know about that so much, but I do know that because they move around they notice a lot of things that may otherwise be missed. My advice is to try to find them first and see if they have seen any sign of the raiders that have Alexis. Secondly, you might want to pay a visit to Tudor City on the banks of the East River. It's about a days worth of travel after a mountain called Murray Hill. Once you get there, look up an old friend of mine, Gates, we were in the guards together in Tribeca before we both got promoted to Captain. I think I got the easier job, I got a nice quiet village and he got a city that is full of thieves and murderers. If anyone knows anything about where the raiders may be hiding, or where they are going then it is him. Good luck, try not to get yourselves killed and bring Alexis back safely. Richard, a quick word before you go…"

* * *

Richard and Captain Montgomery move a little way away from where the rest of the group are finishing up their preparations to leave. "Look, I know this has been a huge shock to you and things seem to be spiraling away from you, but I need to know where your head is at." "You're right it's been a shock and I may never forgive my Mother for keeping this from myself and Alexis. But, there is nothing I won't do to get her back. And then I'm going to find my uncle, and when I do, I'm going to help Katherine get revenge for her parent's murders." "You really do care about her don't you?" the Captain asks. "I love her, and hopefully some day when all this is over, I plan to ask her to marry me." "Well in that case I won't keep you here any longer, go find your sister, stop your uncle, and look after my girl. We can talk about weddings when you all come back in one piece."

While Richard and Captain Montgomery talk quietly away from the group, Lanie approaches Katherine and gives her a hug. Whispering softly into her ear Lanie tells her, "You be careful and make sure you come back in one piece girl. I'm going to miss you around here. You and Richard and your craziness bring light to my life… and food to my table. You need to come back, you hear?!" "I hear you Lanie, we'll come back. And we'll be sure to bring Javi with us, I know you hate not having your bed-warmer at night" she says cheekily. With a small slap to Katherine's arm, Lanie moves over to Javier and wraps her arms tightly around his neck and buries her face in his neck. "You be careful out there Javi, this is dangerous. Much more dangerous than defending a raid on the village, this is going into the vipers den and poking sticks" she says with tears in her eyes. "I'll be careful Chica, Katherine, Richard and Kevin will be with me watching my back. There are no people I trust more, other than you. Josh will be there if we need him too. No way I'm leaving him here with you" he says quietly.

Moving back to the group, Richard asks, "We all set?" Receiving nods in the affirmative Richard mounts his horse and says "Then let's get moving, we've already given them too much of a head start for my liking." The rest of the small group climb into their saddles and start off out of the village square, heading north at a canter. The people of the village calling words of luck and good fortune after them. None of them notice Martha standing quietly in the shade of The Old Haunt, watching as the last members of her family leave her to go into untold danger to rescue her daughter.

Once out of the village Richard instructs Javier to lead the way as he was in the original search party and he leads them to the place where the signs of the raiders splitting into two groups could be was deep in thought as he rode, lost in the thought of what could be happening to his sister. Troubled by what his mother had told himself and Katherine earlier in the day and the conversations with the Captain and Katherine. He resolved that no matter what happened and no matter how long it took, he was going to find his sister. And he was going to avenge Katherine's parents deaths. All he needed was time, luck wasn't an option.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you once again to Sancturia for pointing out a small flaw in this chapter which I have now hopefully explained, your guidance as always is taken on board and much appreciated. Thanks also to the guest reviewer Mike, I'm glad you enjoy the story and hopefully will continue to do so as we move forward. As always you can find me on Tumblr as Wilsalx70. Please feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think of the story so far.**

* * *

As they slowly travel north away from the village, Richard remains lost in deep thought. His thoughts are consumed by what his Mother had told him earlier that day. He had been given so much information, The man he had always thought of as his Father was in actual fact only a man that had helped his Mother during the final stages of her pregnancy. Sure, he had stuck around after Richard was born, treated him like his own son. He had taught him everything he knew of hunting, tracking and animals. He had loved Richard, he was sure of it. He had been there through every stage of his life, every and sad moment, he had given him an adorable sister, Alexis, whom he would do anything for. Including give his life if he must.

But what of his real Father, this Jackson? Where did he fit into all of this? He surely knew his Mother was with child, but rather than come forward and claim him as his son he had stayed quiet and said nothing when his Mother was banished from her family home. He left her alone, with child, tossed out on to the cold streets, with no help, and nowhere to go. What kind of man did that make him? It made him a coward as far as Richard was concerned. But what plagued him the most was how much of this man had been transferred to Richard himself. Richard was sure he would never do something like that to someone he loved. Could think of nothing that would make him throw a woman he loved out onto the streets with nothing, or allow anything to happen to any of the children he hoped he would some day have.

When he thought of his future children and tried to picture them in his mind, he could see a small girl with brown hair and hazel eyes. Her Mother standing proudly beside her, smiling widely and holding a baby boy that had his features. When he pictured his children every image he conjured up of their Mother was a picture of Katherine. He loved her so much, he knew he would marry her some day. They had to get through this journey, this quest. They need to find and hunt down the man that had taken her parent's from her in the worst possible way and make him pay for his crimes. They needed to find Alexis and return her home to safety. Alexis… he pictured her in his mind, her flowing flame colored hair, her piercing blue eyes, that they had both inherited from their Mother. Why had they taken her? What are they planning on doing with her? Is she hurt? Had she been r… NO! He couldn't think that. He had to find her and get her back, that's all there was to it.

* * *

Feeling someone was watching him, he looked across to Katherine, finding her silently gazing at him, her expression marred by a small frown. She had been stealing glances at him over the last hour or so as he looked deep in thought, Katherine thought back over Martha's tale that morning and while she felt sympathy for the older woman's plight and saddened that something like that had happened to her. She was struggling to reconcile that Martha's brother, Richards uncle had been responsible for her parents deaths. She knew she loved Richard, he was her first and only lover, she had known him since she was a child and Alexis had been her best friend her whole life. They hunted together and he had taught her everything he knew about handling a bow, tracking, herb lore, how to move silently. And yet the tale from this morning had disturbed her greatly. She knew she loved him, but she now wondered if she could trust him as she once did.

"You OK?" Richard asks her quietly. "Yeah, just… you know… thinking" she replies. "What about?" "Still trying to come to terms with everything we heard this morning. I still can't believe you didn't know about all that." "Yeah", he says, "I'm not sure I'll ever be able to forgive Mother for not telling us. Yes it would have been difficult to hear, but I'd still rather have known that the man I always thought of as my Father wasn't who I thought he was. And who is real Father and why didn't he help Mother?" Richard runs his hand through his hair, as he glances forward to make sure everyone else is out of hearing range. Javier and Kevin seem to be lost in a discussion of their own and Josh is behind them but ahead of Richard and Katherine. "I'm sorry you had to hear all that this morning, it couldn't have been easy for you, discovering my family was responsible for destroying yours" he says sadly. "You didn't know, you found out this morning just like I did. Do I wish it was different? Of course I do. But it doesn't change the way I feel about you Richard, I love you" she replies. "I love you too" Richard says, and smiles softly. Both return their gazes forward, occasionally scanning around them as they continue onward.

* * *

They traveled northward for another 4 hours, eating up the miles at a steady pace. They hadn't yet left the road as Javi had told them that when he had come this way 2 days before the group of raiders he had followed hadn't diverged from the path until they were almost at the burnt out remains of the once bustling Stuyvesant Town. They had decided that they would first investigate the town as it was the nearest place for someone to hide with Alexis. If they found nothing they would then decide to either carry on north or head more to the west and visit the nomads. The town was almost a full days travel northwest of East Village and they should be there just before nightfall if they kept moving at their current pace. The place was a ghost town now, it had suffered a massive attack from over a hundred raiders 3 years ago and almost every building had been razed to the ground. Most of the men had been killed in the fighting. The unlucky ones had been captured and either tortured before being killed or they had simply been strung from the trees dotted around the town as a warning to any who dared think of settling there again. The women had been captured, raped, and then when they were of no further use they were tortured and killed… for fun. Most of the children had been killed too but some managed to hide in small places around the town and came out, blackened, bruised and terrified after the raiders had left. Some had gone north to Tudor City, but most had come south to East Village. They were given an escort to the City of Tribeca to tell their tale to the King and be placed in orphanage's. The really lucky ones had family in the city that they went to live with.

They should arrive at Stuyvesant within the next hour or so, Richard couldn't help but wonder if they should enter the remnants of the town during the last bit of daylight or wait until it was dark. Javier is apparently having the same thoughts. "What do you think, do we enter or do we wait until it's dark?" Javi says. Katherine replies "I think we wait just out of sight of the town and then Richard and I can enter under cover of darkness and take a quick look around. There should be enough moonlight to see by, it's not very cloudy tonight. If it's clear we can signal the rest of you to come in." Javi looked a bit apprehensive of the pair entering the town alone but Richard agreed, saying "She's right. We are both experts at moving silently and we can look after ourselves. If we see any raiders then we can deal with them before they even know we are there." With that decided they move closer to the destroyed town and find space in a small copse of trees to wait until darkness falls.

* * *

Once they got closer to the burnt out remains of the once bustling town they had taken cover in a small copse of trees about a mile away to wait until darkness covered the land. Richard and Katherine took the opportunity to grab what sleep they could while the others sat around talking quietly, and taking care of the horses. Kevin woke the pair around 3 hours later with a light touch to their shoulders and saying "It's time." They rolled out of their blankets and gathered their weapons, checking the string on their bows for any signs of them needing replaced. After checking everything they each took a spare bowstring and moved stealthily off into the darkness, telling Javier "If it's all clear we'll light a torch and signal you by covering it and uncovering it three times."

They moved swiftly but silently through the inky darkness, staying low and keeping to places where they would be hidden from the town as much as possible. It was dark, but with almost no clouds in the sky they could still be seen. They didn't want to take the chance that they could be seen outlined against the skyline, that could spell disaster if anyone was there. Covering the distance quickly they entered the town, keeping to the darkest shadows, trusting their dark clothing and soft soled leather boots to keep them hidden and silent. Moving steadily from building to building, checking each with a care that bordered on paranoid, making sure no mistakes were made. They communicated through hand signals alone, using the language they used whenever they were out in the woods hunting. Katherine stopped suddenly, holding her hand up to Richard and cocking her head to the side as she listened intently. Richard followed suit, trying to hear whatever had caused her to stop. He heard a muffled sound of something moving inside the shell of the next building. Katherine looked back to Richard and pointed that she would look through what used to be a window. Richard went and took up position next to a door, with his long hunting knife at the ready. Richard nodded and moved off slowly, almost immediately it was like he had disappeared, he was hidden by the shadows so well. Katherine moved towards the window frame, and leaned against the side of the building, listening, smelling for anything that seemed out of place and when nothing seemed amiss she moved her head a little to peer inside the room.

Richard heard a low growl come from inside the room and peered around the door frame. He was surprised to see a small child, looking to be around 7 or 8 years old, lying on the ground in the far corner, a dog standing over her protectively. The dog swung it's head around towards Richard, teeth bared, it's growl getting deeper and louder. As Richard took a step closer to the girl, putting his knife away as he did, the dog let out a bark. Katherine watched the whole thing from the window frame as Richard tried to reach the girl to see if she was OK. She drew her bow and took aim, ready to release an arrow at the dog in case it tried to attack Richard or the little girl. The dog began to bark in earnest as, rear legs lowered, muscles tightened on it's haunch's ready to spring at Richard. Just as Katherine was about to release her arrow at the ground behind the dog to distract it, she heard a small voice saying "Please don't hurt him, he's my only friend." Her head snapped towards the little girl, but her bow never left off aiming at the dog. "You need to call him back before he attacks my friend or I'll have to shoot him. We don't want to hurt him and we aren't going to hurt you little one." The girl looks warily at them, her little face scrunched in indecision. Who were these people? They didn't look like the bad men that came before, when she was little. At least not any she'd seen before. They had a woman with them too, she was pretty and reminded her of her mommy. The bad men would have just killed Midnight and took her while she slept. But these people were trying not to frighten her and didn't want to hurt her friend. Making up her mind, "Midnight, come here" says the little girl softly, and the dog obediently moves to her side. The little girl lays her hand on the dogs head, petting it gently.

Katherine lowers her bow and disappears from the window as Richard moves a little closer to the girl, and crouches down in front of her. When Katherine reappears through the doorway and moves to Richards side, looking at the young girl. She looks hungry and tired. Her long, dark hair looks like it needs a good clean, her face and hands are filthy. The girl asks "Who are you and why are you here?" Richard looks at Katherine as she gently replies "I'm Kate, this is Rick, my boyfriend. We are looking for our friend, she was taken by bad men from our village. Have you seen any men with a girl around my age? She has red hair and is really pretty." "There were some bad men here a few days ago but they didn't have a girl with them." "What's your name little one and where are your parents?" Kate inquires. The little girl looks really sad as she answers "My name is Kyra. Mommy and Daddy are gone, the bad men that came killed them. They killed everyone…" She whispers "Most of the children hid in the basements or roofs of buildings but some of us ran away and hid outside the village like we were told to. When we came back everyone was dead." "Why didn't you go with the other children when they left Kyra?" Richard asks. "I was too frightened, and they had already left when I came back, so I was left here with only Midnight to stay with me." We'll get you back to our village little one, our friend, Kevin, will take you" Katherine says.

Richard has a quick scout around the rest of the ruined buildings and finds them empty so moves to the edge of the village, lights a torch and quickly signals the others to come join them. A few minutes later the rest of the group arrives in the village, and Richard tells them what they found as they move back to where Katherine is sitting talking quietly with Kyra. Josh approaches the little girl carefully and says "I'm just going to check you for any injuries Kyra, is that OK?" The little girl looks over to Katherine who smiles and nods her head to show her it's OK. "Alright" she tells Josh. Josh quickly but carefully looks over Kyra and finds nothing requiring immediate attention. Pointing to Kevin, Katherine says "This is my friend Kevin, he knows how to use magic. He's going to use a really neat trick and take you back to my village and find somewhere for you to sleep and someone to care for you. Is that OK?" Kyra looks up at a smiling Kevin and asks "Can Midnight come too?" Kevin nods his head as he replies "Of course little one, we just need to make sure he doesn't try to run away, so we'll get him to go to sleep first OK?" "OK"

Kyra gets her dog to lie down beside her and Kevin closes his eyes and concentrates for a moment. When he open his eyes again he crosses over to the dog, lays a hand on it's head and mumbles a few words and when he takes his hand away the dog is fast asleep. "There he's fast asleep and we can move him safely now without losing him" Kevin says. "Are you ready to go now Kyra?" He asks after the little girl checks her faithful pet and sees that he really is only sleeping. Nodding shyly the little girl says "Yes." "OK, then once I pick up Midnight I need you to wrap your arms around my leg and not let go until I tell you." With that he bends over once more and picks up Midnight in both arms Kyra walks up to him and holds on tightly to his leg. Kevin summons his will power to himself, and pictures the guardhouse in East Village and using his willpower alone takes himself, Kyra and the sleeping Midnight there instantly.

* * *

"You can let go now Kyra" Kevin says once they pop into the corner at the guardhouse in East Village. The little girl looks around her with wide eyes, and her mouth hanging open. "How… how did you do that?" she asks. "Well I know how to use magic like Kate told you, and this is just one of my tricks. I can move myself from place to place using my magic, but only if I've been to the place before and can picture it in my mind before I try to move" he replies. "Now lets find someone to look after you shall we?" he says with a smile. The little girl nods and follows him out of the building and into the village square. Kevin heads over to The Old Haunt and immediately looks for Jenny. Seeing her heading into the kitchen he heads over that way and calls out to her through the open doorway, not wanting to enter the kitchen with the sleeping dog.

When Jenny exits the kitchen she takes note of the sleeping dog in Kevin's arms and the little girl by his side. "Hey Kevin" she says, "Who is this you have with you?" "This is Kyra and this fella in my arms is Midnight. We found them all alone in the ruins of Stuyvesant Town" he explains. "Do you have any food left we can give them, maybe somewhere to sleep?" he inquires. "Of course" she says, smiling warmly at the young girl "Come on into the kitchen and we'll get you something to eat sweetie, Midnight will have to wait out here by the fire though" she explains. Kyra looks at Kevin, and he gives her a small nod and a smile before heading over to the fire with Midnight. Jenny leads Kyra into the kitchen and settles her at a small table off to side and gets her some broth and bread. Sitting the food in front of the girl she says "This will warm you up and put a little something into your tummy for now, if you are still hungry once it's gone we'll find you something else to eat and drink. I need to go talk to Kevin for a few moments but if you need anything just call for me and I'll come back" she states kindly. "OK" Kyra replies and starts to eat her food.

Jenny walks back out into the main area of the inn and heads over to Kevin. "What happened to her?" she asks. Kevin explains how she lost her parent's in the raider attack that destroyed the town. How she had been one of the few children to escape into hiding but found herself all alone when she eventually dared to come back out. "I'd really like to find her somewhere to live in the village if possible" Kevin says, "It would be so much better for her to be here than in some orphanage in the city." "I agree" replies Jenny, "She can stay here with me for now, that way she'll be with someone she has already met. She can even help me or maybe Lanie, around here with small chores if she likes, and there are other children around her own age for her to play with." "Thanks Jenny" Kevin says giving her a small kiss on the cheek. "When are you going back?" she asks. "I'll stay the night and then head out again first thing in the morning before it gets light. That way the conditions will be almost the same as when I left." "Good" she says, "I have you all to myself tonight then" and gives him a small kiss on the lips.

* * *

Kevin is back in the burnt out town of Stuyvesant before dawn lightens the sky and is approaching the camp the other have made in the burnt out shell of what appears to have once been a small house. As he nears the building he sees Josh come around the other end of the building as if coming from the other end of town. "Hey" says Kevin. "Where were you? Aren't you supposed to be taking your turn at the watch as the others sleep?" he asks as he notices everyone else fast asleep in their bedrolls. "Yeah, I just went to take a leak, didn't seem right to do it where we slept and with a woman here." He replies. Kevin isn't sure he believes him but agrees anyway, "Yeah, OK, fair enough. Just don't leave camp again when it's your watch. Either go before your watch begins or after it ends in future." "No problem" Josh replies.

After waking the rest of the group and having a cold breakfast, the group mounts up once more and moves slowly out of the town. Once they are clear of the town they pick up the pace and head north west to the Flatiron District and the nomads Captain Montgomery told them about.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you to all reviewers, followers and anyone who hit the favourite button yet again. Special thanks goes to Sancturia for helping me through a tough day with this chapter, her suggestions made it so much better, and also to CFPromoter for helping to spread the word about this little tale. I hope you all stay with me and continue to enjoy the story as we see where it takes it us. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Martha awoke the next day, slightly disorientated, the bed didn't feel right beneath her, the mattress wasn't the same one she was used to. Over the years her own had sort of molded into her shape as she very rarely moved in her sleep. Clarity hit her a moment later, she had stayed in the village the night before, at The Old Haunt after watching her son, his girlfriend and their friends ride out of town to find her daughter and bring her home. Alexis… dear, sweet Alexis… such a loving girl, full of life, and love. Love for life, for family, for friends, for Ashley… Martha wondered how her daughter really was, she knew that Alexis was aware of Ashley's death, she had been taken from her place over his fallen body after all. Martha worried for her son and daughter, and also for the woman that she knew would become her daughter in law one day. The danger they were entering into wasn't imagined, it was real, it was very real. She knew Richard and Katherine were extremely accomplished hunters and very capable with their weapons, especially with the bows they carried. But she couldn't stop herself from worrying, she knew her brother was a brutal man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. She just didn't know where Alexis fit into his plans. He couldn't possibly know that Alexis was her daughter, could he? No, it wasn't possible she thought, he had no idea where she was or even that she had survived after being thrown out of her ancestral home. There had to be something going on here that she couldn't see yet… she just hoped that Richard and Katherine could figure out what it was before it was too late to do anything about whatever it was.

Getting out of bed Martha got dressed and made herself presentable. Even now, after all these years, Martha was a firm believer that presentation was everything. If you looked the part then people took you seriously more often than not. With a small sigh, she left the room and headed downstairs to the main room of the inn, thinking she would eat and say hello to Jenny and Lanie before leaving for home later in the day. Entering the dining room and bar area of the inn, Martha couldn't see anyone so she headed towards the door to the kitchen. From the doorway she could hear Jenny talking to someone, instructing them on how to wash the vegetables she grew in the small garden out back of the inn. Martha couldn't see who Jenny could be talking to so she called out softly, "Jenny, are you there darling?" Moments later Jenny appeared with a young girl following close behind her. The girl was trying to hide behind Jenny and had her eyes cast down toward the floor. She had long, dark brown hair and blue eyes, her nose had a small dusting of freckles around it and she was adorable. She looked sad though and Martha wondered what had happened to the girl and where she had come from. Martha was sure she hadn't seen this little girl around the village before, she was way too cute to forget. "Ah, there you are Jenny, and you have a friend I see" She says smiling at the young girl. "Good morning Martha, I trust you slept well? This is Kyra, she was brought here by Kevin yesterday after you had retired for the night" replies Jenny as she smiles down at the girl and affectionately ruffles her hair. "Kyra, why don't you go practice washing the vegetables for me sweetie, while I get Martha some breakfast." "OK Jenny" replies Kyra, and with a small smile scurries back into the kitchen.

* * *

Once Kyra has gone Jenny instructs Martha to find a seat just as Lanie comes in. "Have you had breakfast yet Lanie?" asks Jenny. "Not yet, heard we had a late night visitor so thought I'd pop over, and hear all about it while I ate" Lanie answers. "Okay, well take a seat with Martha and I'll bring out some food and tell you everything I know as you eat" says Jenny. Leaving the two women to talk Jenny pops back into the kitchen and returns a few minutes later with two plates of food, and a third, smaller plate of bread for them to share.

Taking a seat with the other ladies Jenny tells them all she had heard from Kevin the night before and as much as she had been able to observe of the girl that morning. Both women looked absolutely horrified by what they heard and Martha had tears in eyes by the end of Jenny's tale. "What can we do to help?" asks Martha. "Well Lanie can check the girl over properly, apparently she was only given a quick glance over last night by Josh. And we need to come up with a plan to include her in village life, and find her a permanent place to live. I'd like to keep her in the village though, an orphanage in the city is no place for after so long on her own" says Jenny. "If she was willing, I'd like her to try come live in the cabin with me" says Martha, "It'll be so empty without any of the children there. I can teach her about herbs, and growing vegetables in the garden and there will be plenty of room for her to play with her dog."

"That actually sounds pretty good Martha" Lanie comments, "She can also join me and learn more of herbs from a medicinal point of view." "And she can continue to come here and learn cooking and preparation" says Jenny. "So it's settled then, we just need young Kyra to agree to it" says Martha. Jenny rises from the table and says "I'll go explain everything to her and see what she thinks" and with that she disappears into the kitchen. "Kyra? Come over here please sweetie, I want to talk to you for a minute." Kyra cleans and dries her hands and then walks over to where Jenny is sitting at the same table she had eaten at the night before. "You know the lady that I was talking to earlier? The one with the red hair? Jenny asks. Kyra nods her head shyly. "Well that is Richards mommy, he's the man that found you last night, him and his girlfriend Katherine. Do you remember them?" Again, Kyra nods shyly and says "they were nice." Jenny smiles, "They are nice sweetie, and so is Martha. She would like to invite you to go live with her in her home in the woods just outside of the village, if you'd like to go." Kyra just looks down at the floor, uncertainty written on her young face. "Martha wants to teach you about the herbs in her garden and she misses Richard and Katherine and Alexis terribly, she's living all on her own out there right now." The Girl looks up at Jenny quizzically, "Who is Lexis?" "Alexis", Jenny corrects the girl gently, "is Richards sister, and Martha's little girl. The bad men took her when they attacked our village. Richard and Katherine went to find her and bring her home. That's what they were doing when they found you, looking for Alexis." Midnight pads across the kitchen floor and plants himself next to Kyra. Wrapping her arms tightly around him, holding him to her chest like a lifeline as she asks in a tiny voice, "Can Midnight come with me if I go?" "Of course he can sweetie, Martha already told me there is lots of room for you to play with him. And you will also be able to come back almost every day to help me here. I'll show you how to prepare food, and my other friend Lanie wants to teach you how to make people feel better when they are sick. Does that sound okay to you sweetie?" Kyra thinks about it for a moment and eventually nods her head slowly up and down.

A short time later Jenny comes back with Kyra in tow, Midnight following along behind her. "I explained everything to Kyra and she'd like to go with you for a few hours today Martha, to see where you live and what it's like, wouldn't you sweetie" Jenny says, smiling down at the young girl. Kyra nods her head shyly. "Well that's wonderful, I'm sure we'll have a lovely time" says Martha, "And I'll make sure to bring you back later this evening and you can tell Jenny all about it."

Over the next 3 days Kyra has spent more and more time at the cabin with Martha, only coming back to spend time learning from Jenny and Lanie. Jenny has been teaching her which vegetables are ready for use in the garden behind the inn, and how to prepare them, while Lanie has been showing her how to prepare and use the herbs grown by Martha at the cabin. She has also taken it upon herself to begin to teach the child how to read and write. Martha finds herself growing extremely attached to the young girl, finding solace in her company, while her own children are in so much danger.

* * *

It's been three days since they left the burnt out remains of Stuyvesant Town, three days and not a single sighting of anyone else, not even as a silhouette on the horizon at night when they stop to make camp. They crossed over into the flatiron District last night but it was too late to continue so they had made camp near a small stream that meandered between the rocks they were sheltering behind. It had been windy so they hadn't wanted to start a fire, and thus drawing attention to themselves, so it had been a long cold, lonely night. Kevin had taken the first watch, followed by Josh and then Kate. Javier had woken Rick three hours before dawn and he was grateful as it had been his turn to sleep a whole night uninterrupted. By the time it was starting to get light Rick was lying atop the rocks behind which everyone slept when he saw a slow moving cloud of dust further to the north. Jumping from the rocks down to the ground he quickly started to wake everyone telling them what he had found. Packing up camp quickly and climbing into their saddles they headed north, towards the cloud.

They had traveled for around four hours when they saw a group of around twenty to thirty men, women and children moving slowly towards the east. It looked like they had their lives packed onto horses, or mules, there were so many of them, piled high with the nomads belongings. As they approached the group they women and children all ran to the end of the line farthest away while the men came running towards them. Rick and Kate moved forward slowly, stopping their horses and dismounting they walked towards the men with their arms out to their sides showing they held no weapons. They stopped about halfway towards them and waited until two of the men came forward and met them halfway between the two groups.

"Why are you following us?" One of the men asks. "We mean you and your families no harm. Our village was attacked by raiders and my sister was taken. I wanted to ask if you had seen any around here while you were traveling" Richard answers. "We haven't seen raiders in a few weeks, but the last we saw any the were to the east of here, camped at The Pit." "The Pit?" inquires Kate. "It's a lake a days walk east of here, faster since you're riding. The water levels sometimes drop so low it's like a giant hole in the ground, so it's called The Pit by our people" The man says. "What is the surrounding area like at this lake? Is there cover or is it open ground?" Richard asks the man. "It's open on both ends and one side, bu the other, where you would find any raiders camping is a mixture of small rocks and trees. The rocks form a natural windbreak from the lake on the northern side and the trees surround it on the other sides making it a perfect place to camp." He says, "We used it ourselves until the raiders drove us away."

"Thank you for your help" says Richard. "I hope you find your sister, unharmed. Good luck, you're going to need it" the nomad says, and they wander away back to their families. Rick and Kate head back to the group and inform them of everything they had learned and once safely settled back into their saddles set out eastward for lake known as The Pit. They tried to form a plan as best they could, given the information they had at hand, but until they actually saw the lay of the land it was nebulous at best. There were too many variables for them to think about and without actually seeing the place they were essentially going in blind.

* * *

As they approached the western end of the lake later that afternoon they were able to see that what the nomad had said was indeed true. What they hadn't anticipated was just how open the area was on the unenclosed sections. They needed to turn more to the north as if they were going to bypass the area completely and come in through the heavily wooded area away from the lakeside. Kevin, Josh and Javier, would come in more to the east than Richard, Katherine who would come from deep within the woods silently. Kevin would attempt to remove any guards that were on the side nearest the lake if possible, swimming to the rocks if needs be. This approach had to be fast but silent so as not to alert anyone that could be lying in wait for them. They couldn't be sure that they hadn't been seen earlier before they turned north after all.

They couldn't wait until nightfall this time, they had to move as fast as they could, Alexis could be here for all they knew, and Richard ached to find her. And those responsible for taking her. He and Katherine moved swiftly but silently through the trees, scanning every quarter for signs of movement. As they got closer to the camp they could hear voices, they weren't exactly trying to be quiet. Hopefully they had been drinking and were a little less aware of their surroundings. Richard pinned himself against a tree as he saw a man come from the camp, he was heavily armed and had a scar running down the right side of his face from his ear to his chin. Signaling Katherine he drew out his long hunting knife and waited until the man had his back turned to him and almost laughed, the man was literally going to be caught with his pants down. Katherine fitted an arrow to her bow and gave a nod to Richard. He grinned back at her and advanced slowly on the man caught in this most unfortunate position. He wrinkled his nose and waited until the man finished and as he started to turn Richard hit him as hard as he could on the head with the handle of his knife. The man crumpled to the ground unconscious and Richard quickly bound him using one of his precious bowstrings. He grinned to Katherine, no matter what else happened now, they had a prisoner.

Javier, Kevin and Josh moved through the eastern end of the wooded enclosure, advancing on the rocky section of land before the narrow lakeside beach. Josh was being way too noisy, the man couldn't move quietly if his life depended on it - which it did. "Stay here Josh, your making too much noise and gonna get yourself killed" Javi whispers to him. Nodding, Josh whispers "OK, I'll come in once any fighting starts and lend what help I can." Javier and Kevin continue to move forward as quickly and quietly as they can. Javier has his sword belt muffled at his side with strips of linen-wrapped wool to deaden the sound of his sword on his leather armor. They are almost at the rocks when Javier stops Kevin with a hand to his chest, pushing him back a little. Leaning in close to Kevin's ear he whispers almost silently, "Lookout, on top of the rock. Looks like he's drinking." Kevin nods his head and motions that he'll deal with this one. Moving closer to the rocks, Kevin watches and waits, when the guard has turned slightly to his left Kevin darts across the open space until he's at the base of the rocks directly below him out of his line of sight. Climbing the rocks carefully until he's just below the top edge, he could probably see right over the top if he stood up straight from his current position. He murmurs the same spell he used to put Midnight to sleep a few days ago, but this time he doesn't release the spell. He holds it, and waits for sounds of the guard turning again. When he hears the guard turn he quickly stands, puts his hand on the guards leg and releases his spell. Clambering quickly up over the last portion of rock Kevin catches the guard before he falls and slowly lowers him to the ground and signals Javier that the way forward is clear.

Javier sprints forward to the base of the rock and climbs up to join Kevin. He's lying on his stomach looking down into a camp where there are a few raiders drinking. Quickly counting them he realizes there are seven of them, including the guy Kevin just put to sleep. Not a big group, but big enough to cause them some trouble if they aren't careful. Scanning the tree line on the other side of the camp, he can just make out the shapes of Katherine and Richard, arrows fitted, bows drawn and ready to fire at the first sign of trouble. Javier draws his sword quietly and nods to Kevin to show he's ready. Kevin stands and begins a small incantation, then points his hand right into the center of the area the raiders are facing… the fire.

Richard and Katherine see Kevin stand and point his arm towards the raiders sitting around a fire when a blinding light appears in front the men. They stagger back, trying to stand and draw weapons at the same time. Richard and Katherine release their arrows at the same time, taking advantage of their confusion, and dropping the two raiders furthest away from Javier who is charging the raider nearest to him, with his sword in his hand. When he reaches him, he wastes no time in thrusting his sword into the practice dummy's stomach and diving after the next nearest raider. A small streak of light passes him and the raider drops to the ground writhing in agony, but otherwise appearing unharmed. Javier gives him a kick in the head as he runs by him looking for another practice dummy. Looking around he sees the final 2 raiders are down, they seem to have sprouted arrows in their chests. Not a trick he wants to learn, he likes his chest exactly as it is… and so does Lanie.

Richard and Katherine come into the clearing, Richard dragging an unconscious raider behind him as Josh arrives from the other side. Javier has put the raider that he stabbed through the stomach out of his misery and has gone over to the guy he kicked in the head, he's dead too. The pain from whatever spell Kevin hit him with finally finished him suddenly remembers the guy they left on top of the rock asleep and hurries back to get him. Richard sits the guy he knocked out by the fire and places himself in front of him waiting for him to wake up. Javier arrives a few minutes later, empty handed. "The guy we left on top of the rock is gone Kevin, I thought he'd still be asleep?" he asks. "He should be," Kevin replies, "That sleep spell should have left him out cold for at least 30 minutes." "Hmmm, well he ain't there now. I took a look around for him but I didn't see him anywhere, he's gone." "Damn. Nothing we can do about it now. At least we still have sleeping beauty here though" Richard says pointing at the still unconscious guy in front of him."

They search the camp while they wait for the raider to wake up, but not finding anything to give them a direction to go. Katherine finally gets bored waiting and drags the guy to the lake and drags him in head first. The raider starts to cough from his dousing as he regains consciousness, Katherine grins "Time to get some answers".

They questioned him for an hour, both Javier and Richard getting rough with him and leaving him with a few more bruises than when they started. Katherine approached the raider, a seductive sway in her hips. The raider looked her and swallowed hard, he hadn't been with a woman in a long time and this was a vision straight from his dreams. Katherine moved around behind him, leaning over and whispering into his ear "Like what you see?" The man bobbed his head up and down quickly. "Well" Katherine said, tell us whatever you know and I'll give you something so nice, it'll leave you seeing stars..."

Richard watched on as Katherine seduced the piece of slime sitting on the ground before her. His face was going red, he didn't like seeing this, she couldn't use that tone of voice, her bedroom voice, that was the voice she only used with him! He knew what she was doing and why she was doing it, but still... he didn't like it. Looking over at Katherine one more time and seeing her glance up at him, he threw a stony gaze and turned and walked out of the clearing, needing to clear his head. He hated this!

Katherine watched her lover leave the clearing and couldn't help but feel sorrow at needing to do this, she would have to make it up to him once she found out what this guy knew. "Are you ready to tell us yet?" Katherine asked."His name is Maddox, he's a ruthless bastard, all the guys are scared of him. He took the girl for someone, I don't know who. Last I knew he was heading to Tudor City, staying there a while for some business he had and then he was moving into Central Park Forest. That's all I know."

"Good boy" Katherine say, "You ready for your reward? Ready to see stars?" The raider leers at Katherine and nods his head vigorously. Katherine steps up close to him, leans over and whispers in his ear "Okay, this is all for you." She turns around and starts to play with the buttons on her shirt… Then spins and kicks him as hard as she can between the legs and watches him topple over clutching his nuts, his eyes rolling up into the back of his head. Kevin, and Javier start laughing so hard as she grins at them that tears start to roll down their faces. Josh just looks stunned, and disappointed.

Katherine looks at the guys, then moves off into the trees to find her lover. She finds him sitting on a fallen tree and approaches him slowly. Wrapping her arms around his neck she whispers "I'm sorry, I just... he wasn't talking and no amount of hitting him was making a difference. I thought he would react better to a woman's touch, and he did. He told us everything." "And did he like his reward, did you make him see stars, did he get what he wanted?" Richard says, his voice cold and hard. Katherine replied "Oh he got his reward and he saw stars alright... I'm pretty sure he won't be able to walk properly for a while."

Richard reaches up and unwraps her arms from his neck and goes to walk away from her again when she reaches out and grabs his arm. "I'ts not what your thinking Richard, he can't walk and he saw stars because he kicked him as hard as I could in the balls, no-one touches or sees my body but you babe." Richard turns and looks at her incredulously, "You kicked... in the...?" he stammers. "Mhmmm," she replies, "Now come back here and I'll be sure to see you leaving stars... for an entirely different reason" And with that she takes his hand and slowly leads him deeper into the woods.

* * *

**A/N 2: This is a replacement chapter as I wasn't entirely happy with how the last section played out. This version is longer and I think is a better way to go with Katherine seducing the raider and how Richard deals with it, and how as a couple they move past it. If you have read both versions let me know what you think.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So here we are with the first chapter of 2015, hopefully it lives up to the fireworks that have been set off around the world to welcome in the new year. Thanks as always to Sancturia for beta reading and pointing out my errors and inconsistencies, and for helping me to come to the realization that I should never ever post a chapter without having had a proper nights sleep and re-reading it in the morning. Thank you to everyone who reads, reviews and follows this story, and a Happy New Year to you all.**

* * *

The group of friends arrive at the gates of Tudor City five days after leaving the lake in the Flatiron District, the ride had been grueling. Richard had pushed more and more each day as he grew more desperate to find his sister. They had ridden faster and for longer each day, sometimes not stopping until well after darkness had fallen and were in the saddle again before the dawn had fully broken. He refused to listen to anyone, even Katherine at times. They were exhausted before they even reached the foot of Murray Hill. Murray Hill was not so much a hill as it was a mountain, it rose fifteen thousand feet, and was surrounded by smaller foothills, some of which reached five thousand feet. The passes were treacherous, and there were few safe passages to be found. At this time of year though the river that meandered through the foothills was low, that at least left them a path to follow that led almost directly to Tudor City. The river itself was fed from streams that came from the foothills and from the mountain itself, and flowed through the foothills and around Murray Hill to eventually feed into the great East River. As they had followed the path of the river Richard wondered what would happen when they finally arrived at Tudor City. Would his sister and this man, Maddox, be there? Could they expect help from the Captain that Montgomery had told them to seek out or were they on their own? No matter, Richard thought, help or no help he was finding Alexis, and he was getting her home. And Maddox… he was going to pay, he was going to pay dearly.

Now, as they entered the City he felt alive with the thought of being able to find his sister soon. They passed through the gates and were given directions to an inn, near the center of the city, just a few streets away from the guardhouse that was home to Captain Gates' office. It was late in the evening and Richard was so desperate to find his sister that he insisted they go directly to find Gates. Katherine had eventually been able to convince him that they should at least get rooms and eat a proper hot meal at the inn before seeking out the Captain. It had taken some time and some harsh truthful words to convince him, but he at last agreed that they needed to at least eat after so long in the saddle. Sitting in the main room of The Horse and Pony while they eat their first hot meal in a week they tried to think of ways to discover the location of the man named Maddox. They were going to visit Gates after they had eaten, hopefully he would be able to tell them the best person to speak to to buy the most important thing any city had to sell - information. Even better would be Gates knowing exactly where to find Maddox in the city. Someone with that type of reputation would be known to the local guards surely?

They finish their meal and head over to the guardhouse only to be told Captain Gates had gone home for the day and they should come back in the morning. Deciding to familiarize themselves with the city the four friends wander through the streets, while Josh claiming to be tired goes back to their rooms at the inn. The next day, after the best sleep they have enjoyed in over a week, they make their way back to the guardhouse.

* * *

Captain Victor Gates is a tall, dark skinned man. He cuts an imposing figure, with his long dark hair, hanging limp from around the sides and back of his head. The top of his head is showing signs of baldness, probably from years of wearing a helmet. In his late fifties now, his body is showing signs of the many battles and brawls he has been in. His nose has been oft broken and he has a nasty scar on the left side of his face and neck, then disappearing beneath his tunic. His shoulders and arms are huge, testament to the time he still spends training with his men. He looks like the kind of man who would lead his men from the front line instead of being at the rear issuing orders.

He leads the group into an office at the rear of the building, it's small enough that they only just manage to squeeze everyone in and still be able to close the door. Richard and Katherine both take turns at telling Gates everything they know about the attacks on East Village, and the information they got from the raider regarding the man named Maddox. The only part they leave out is about Richard being related to Lord Bracken. "How exactly did you get the information from the raider and this man Maddox?" Katherine looks down at the ground shyly, then after a moment she raises her head, looks Gates direct in the eye and tells him all about her little seductive interrogation of the raider - and how it ended for him. By the time she's finished Gates is struggling to hold in his laughter and starts coughing to cover it up.

After taking a few moments to recompose himself, Victor Gates thinks about how he can help this motley band of friends that Roy Montgomery has sent his way. They definitely look as if they can handle themselves, well, at least three of them do… Looking at Kevin and Josh he asks, "How exactly do you two fit into this group? He" he says, pointing at Javi, "looks like he can handle himself with a sword, and this pair", he continues, pointing at Richard and Katherine, "are, by all accounts, downright deadly with those bows they carry. But you two carry no weapons at all, so what is it you do exactly?" he finishes.

Kevin sighs, as if he had been expecting this for some time now and replies, "I'm a magician, well, technically, I'm still an apprentice, but I can still be useful in a battle if required." Gates nods his head, accepting the truth of the matter, magicians can turn the tide of battle as easily as a well placed thrust of a sword, or an arrow, "And you?" he asks of Josh. Josh raises himself to his full height and his chest puffs out slightly as he answers, "I'm an healer, trained at Brookdale Healing Center."

Gates nods as he ponders the dynamics of the group before him, "Not a bad combination, another person wielding a sword would have been beneficial though." Javi answers for the group when he points at Katherine saying "Don't let her looks deceive you, she's even more lethal with a blade than she is with that bow she carries." Gates' eyebrows shoot up at this while Katherine tries to contain a smug grin but failing miserably. "Roy and Robert Montgomery and Javi were my teachers from when I was thirteen, they tried to teach me to use a bow too, but I was soon better than they were. That's when I started training with Richard," she explains, "and he made me better. He also taught me everything he knows about woodcraft, tracking, trapping, hunting, how to stay hidden and how to move with stealth." Richard looks at Katherine proudly and says, "She's probably the most dangerous of us all. She has the looks of an angel, the heart and soul of a warrior, and the skills of a master assassin. I'm just glad she's on our side."

After thinking for a few more minutes Gates says "There is a man, in the city called Eric Vaughn, he's a sneaky bug eyed little bastard, but he deals in information. If anyone can tell you anything about Maddox and where to find him it will be him. He can normally be found in any number of the brothels and flop houses in the city. My men can keep an eye out for him when they are conducting their patrols and once they find where he's conducting business I'll send word to you where to find him. It shouldn't take too long to locate him, because of the trade he deals in, he needs to be available for people who require his services. Go back to the inn where you're staying and I'll set things in motion. Don't move from the inn, we need to move at a moments notice. If he knows you are looking for him and why he must disappear and your chance will be gone." Thanking the Captain, the friends file out of the room and return to the inn to await word as to Vaughn's whereabouts.

* * *

Two days later, they had received word from Gates that Vaughn was in a flop house in the seedier part of the city. They were thankful that they didn't have to stay inside any longer, they had whiled away the time playing cards or dice. Richard and Katherine had decided to play other, more adult, games, in the bedroom for a good part of the time since they had nothing better to do and felt the need to be alone. They had immediately gone to the guardhouse and made a plan on how to grab Vaughn before he disappeared. Now, they waited by the rear entrance to the flop house as Gates' men piled through the front door. This particular building wasn't only home to Vaughn but also to a number of men who dealt in items gained from other, more illegal activities. A few seconds after they heard the front door of the building crash in the rear door burst open and a man came running out, and straight into the waiting arms of Richard, who immediately grabbed him, spun him around and pushed him up against the rough stone wall of the building, hard.

"Maddox, where is he?" Richard said, steel in his eyes and his voice rough and his tone of voice icy. "I don't know any Maddox" Vaughn tried. Richard slammed his fist hard into Vaughn's stomach and the air flew from the man's mouth, "Think hard" Richard told him. Vaughn looked around at the faces arrayed before him, every one of them looked menacing, but it was the womans glare that really unsettled him. She was a truly beautiful woman but that glare was disturbing, even worse was when she pulled a knife from her belt and started inspecting the blade before proceeding to clean her nails with it. He quickly looked around for ways to escape, seeing none, he said "He'll kill me if I tell you." "And we'll kill you if you don't. They way I see it is like this, we are here and will kill you right now if you don't tell us what we want to know. Maddox will kill you if he survives long enough after we get through with him. So your choice is die right now, or maybe die later" Katherine said sweetly. Looking around at the hard, cold faces before him Vaughn deflated, "He's been in the city for about a week, came in under cover of darkness as usual, but this time was different. He had a woman with him, she didn't seem to willing to be there with him though from what I hear. You can find him over at an inn on Lexington called The Squab and The Quail. It's a real dive, the sort of people that use that place aren't the kind of people you want to get on the wrong side of. That's all I know, I swear." "The woman," Richard breathed, "Did she have red hair?" "I don't know",Vaughn replied, "I never saw them, I get my information from beggars, and urchins on the street." Seeing Gates and one of his men exiting the rear door of the building Richard shoves Vaughn towards them, "He's all your's Captain, lock him up for now until we deal with Maddox. And if he's giving us false information then we'll know exactly where to find him."

* * *

As they watched and waited in the house across the street from the building Maddox was reportedly holed up in, Richard went through their planning again in his head. Gates had had a crew of ever changing street urchins and beggars watching The Squab and The Quail all day, people had come and gone and from what they had discovered there were three entrances to the building. The main entrance was on Lexington, like Vaughn had said, there was another, side entrance on Jubilee square, the one that had them really worried though was an entrance into the sewer system beneath the city streets. If anyone escaped through that exit into the the sewers they were gone, it was a maze down there and the building sat on the corner of two streets. Jubilee square was directly above and there was a major conjunction of tunnels here coming from other parts of the city joining a main tunnel and heading down to the docks to be dumped into the harbor. There was no way they could cover all of those tunnels, so they had to cover the exit itself. Gates had twelve men down there, six of whom would burst through the door and six that would stay behind to subdue anyone that tried to leave that way.

He had another 10 men concealed in buildings around the square, all out of uniform, but wearing leather armor under their clothes. It wasn't much protection but it was better than none. Richard, Katherine, and Javier were in a building across from the inn on Lexington, they had entered under cover of darkness from an alley to the rear of the building. With them was Captain Gates and six more of his men. Kevin and Josh were to wait in the building across the street and wait. If anyone tried to escape the building, Kevin would deal with them. Josh wouldn't enter the other building until any fighting was over and he would treat any wounded men. The plan was to wait until the ringing of the bell to signal the change of the watch and then they all of the groups would converge on the building at once. The men in the sewers would wait until they heard the guards upstairs enter the building and then the six men designated to enter would burst through the door while the other six remained behind, just inside the door.

The bell rang and the guards, Gates and the three friends made their way across the street quickly. Gates ordered one of his men to kick in the door, creating noise and confusion for the patrons inside. Everyone went in, weapons drawn, Richard and Katherine took up position just inside the door, arrows knocked in their bows and ready to fire should the need arise. All hell broke loose, the 30 or so patrons of the inn diving for weapons or running for the exits. As the second and third groups of guards entered the ones that had opted to flee were quickly subdued, but that left the guards with fewer men to hold back the men who had opted to fight. Richard saw a man approach Javier's back with a long hunting knife in his hand and quickly sent an arrow across the room and into his back. As the man crumpled to the floor he saw Katherine had dropped her bow and was now in the middle of the fight wielding a sword in one hand and her long hunting knife in the other. She quickly dispatched one man with a stab to the throat from her knife and fended off a blow from another with her sword. Dropping to the ground and spinning she took the man's feet from beneath him and ran her sword through his stomach just as Javier hacked at a mans leg, dropping him immediately.

Richard watched on, picking his targets and bringing them down with carefully placed arrows while scanning the room for signs of Maddox. Spying him trying to work his way around the room to the entrance on Jubilee Square Richard thought quickly. There would be no men waiting outside, if he managed to get to the exit they would lose him in the streets and the many alleys in the area. "Javi" He shouted, and pointed at Maddox when he turned to him. Richard quickly let loose an arrow at the man Javi was fighting and Javi spun away charging through the room after Maddox. Javier reached the door before Maddox did and they began to assess each other carefully over there blades. Each recognized a dangerous opponent before them, one wrong move could mean death for either of them. Maddox attacked with a flurry of blows, some of which Javier was only just able to block, Damn, he's fast thought Javi. Years of training with Katherine had sharpened his reflexes though thankfully, but he was still being backed up towards the tried to circle around Javier, hoping to move him from the exit so he could make his escape but Javier stubbornly stood his ground, keeping his body between Maddox and the door.

Maddox attacked with a brutal set of blows towards Javier's head and chest, then switched it to his legs. Javier, met each blow and launched an attack of his own as Maddox seemed to slow to take a breath and hit Maddox on his off arm, leaving blood welling from the deep cut there. Maddox enraged and swung his sword at Javier like an Axe, putting his weight behind each blow and although Javi was able to meet blow and deflect it he was being forced back again and he was tiring under the weight of the blows. Javier trapped in the frame of the door and had nowhere else to go, no room to swing his sword. If he moved back he was giving Maddox enough room to get by him and escape and he was determined that wasn't going to happen. Maddox swung his sword at Javi, but it was weaker than before, his strength draining from the brutal blows he had rained down on Javi just moments before. Javi deflected it, but he was weak too and he only deflected the blade downward away from his chest and the blade bit into his leg. Katherine had arrived behind Maddox just in time to see his sword bite deep into Javier's leg and in a fit of rage she reversed her sword so she was holding it by the blade and swung it as hard as she could at Maddox's head. The crack coming from his head as the sword hit Maddox was audible in the room as the fight was coming to a close, and he slumped to the ground unconscious.

"Richard! Get Josh here in now!" She shouted across the room. Richard sprang out of the door shouting for Josh to get his ass over here. Josh ran out of the building across the street, Kevin right behind him. "Javi, has a nasty leg wound and needs healing" he said as the men ran past him. Josh ran over to where Javi lay on the ground and knelt next to him. Using a knife he cut Javi's leather trouser leg open so he could get a better look at the wound. "It's not too bad, I've seen worse", he said after cleaning it up, "But it's going to be at least a two days before you're ready to travel again. "Just fix it, Josh"Javier said. "Did we find Alexis?" He asks Katherine. "I don't know, they are still looking through the building at the minute" she answered. "At least we got Maddox though, and alive too" Javier said. "Yeah, at least we got him. One less raider to worry about."

Richard and Captain Gates crossed over to them several minutes later and Richard said "Alexis isn't here. I don't know if she was ever here." Katherine looks over at him, "We still have sleeping beauty here," she said pointing at the unconscious Maddox, "Maybe we'll get something out of him." Gates tells two of his men to take him back to the guardhouse and throw him in a cell, and gets two more of his men to carry Javier upstairs to an empty room where Josh can treat him better. "You lot stay here and I'll come by and tell you whatever information I can get out of Maddox as quickly as I can. And then once we've got everything from him that we can I think it'll be time for a little public hanging. Him and his friends that are still alive after this fight will be the main attraction."

Two days later, Gates shows up at the inn and informs them "Maddox did have Alexis here with him. He passed her on to another man he calls Lockwood two days ago and he slipped her out of the city and then headed towards Central Park Forest. According to Maddox he would have gone straight north from here. Once in the forest he would have travel to village after village, heading north all the time until he reached Turtle Lake and then turned more northeast and heading to Morningside Heights." Richard starts to throw things around the room screaming "**She was here! She was right here and we missed here while we sat on our asses waiting for information.****" **He walks over to the window and stares out of it blankly. Katherine moves up behind him and places her hand on his shoulder, softly saying "We'll find her Richard, we know we're on the right path at least. We'll get her back I promise." Turning to Katherine, tears in his eyes and frustration written all over his face he stutters out "She was right here. We were in the city and doing **nothing **while she was taken from us again!" "There was nothing we could have done at that time Richard. Yes was here, but without that information, we wouldn't have even known where to look. You need to hold it together Rick", she says quietly, "Falling apart now and charging off isn't going to do anyone any good." Richard looks at her incredulously, "You want to wait. She's getting further and further away and you want to wait! I don't believe this." Katherine sighs softly, "Rick, we have to wait. We need Javi and he won't be fit to travel until at least tomorrow according to Josh. Even then he may still be walking with a limp, riding isn't going to do him any favors, but I know he'd follow you if you left right now. If we at least wait until tomorrow we can gather more supplies. Taking food with us means we won't need to stop to hunt so we'll be able to travel more each day."

Richard sighed and ran his hand through his hair in frustration, he knew she was right. He was being irrational, he knew that. But Alexis had been right here and he had failed her. They had gotten the information too late, she was gone again, moved before they even knew she was there. But Kate was right, they knew where she was being taken, which route they going to take. And they could make good time in the forest. If as Katherine suggested they take more supplies they would only need to stop for water. Sighing again and wrapping his arms around Katherine he said "You're right. She was gone before we even knew she was here. We'll take tonight to rest ourselves and the horses, buy more supplies and hopefully Josh will clear Javi to travel tomorrow.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thank you once again to Sancturia for her help and suggestions. And thank you to everyone who has stuck with me on this story. Please let me know what you think. :)**

* * *

Over the last week Kyra had settled into life in East Village. She enjoyed living with Martha; she hadn't realized how much she had missed other people in her life when it was only her and Midnight. She had been learning a lot since arriving here. Martha was teaching her about growing herbs and vegetables in the small garden plot next to the cabin. Jenny was teaching her how to clean and prepare the vegetables ready for cooking, either as part of a main meal, or more often than not, for use in a stew or broth. Lanie also had taken part in her education, teaching her how to use the herbs that she and Martha grew for medicinal purposes. She had been thrilled when Lanie had taught her how to boil the herbs, mixing some together and then adding honey and boiling it all again to make medicines that could be used to treat coughs or colds. She was learning letters and numbers, reading and writing too.

At first she had been a little overwhelmed and maybe even a little scared about living here with all these new people, but as time went on she found she was enjoying it more and more. She often wondered if this is what her life would have been like had her parents not been killed, although she didn't really think it would. There was something about the people in this village that just wasn't the same as the townspeople of Stuyvesant. Ah, that's what it was, the people here worked with and for each other, whereas the people in the town only worked for themselves.

Her parents had been wonderful and she loved them and missed them so much every day, but they had been simple folk. Her Father had worked as a farmhand on one of the outlying farms, leaving early in the morning and coming back late at night. Sometimes Kyra didn't even see him for a few days at a time as he was always working. Her Mother had mostly stayed at home, taking simple jobs like washing clothes, or repairing clothes for farmer's wives if they needed it. If her parents had lived, she knew, she would never be learning all the things that she was now.

She worked hard at learning everything Martha, Jenny, and Lanie had to teach her and she was making friends with some of the other children in the village too. The adults too had taken to her quite quickly and often someone would pat her head or ruffle her hair with a smile as she walked by them. She could often be found playing in the village square with Gina, the baker's daughter. They both delighted in teasing Midnight with a stick, holding it up high and getting him to jump up for it, or throwing it and having him fetch it back. Sometimes Robert or Sarah Montgomery would take the girls and Midnight down to the small river next to the mill to play in the water there. Midnight loved the water, he would happily jump in right along with the girls after they had shucked out of their clothes and swim around them until he got tired. He would climb out of the water, shaking his body and sending water flying in all directions getting the girls or Sarah to scream when the cold water hit them, then he would lie out in the sun to dry off.

She had confessed to Sarah one day that she wished her parents were here with her, stating that they would have loved life in East Village. They 'liked' Stuyvesant Town, probably because they had been born there, but she just knows they would have loved it here more. She had cried in Sarah's arms that day after telling Sarah of her parents and Sarah had just held her tightly, offering her soothing words and comforting her with arms clasped around her small frame, and a hand running softly through her hair.

Midnight seemed to have taken a liking to Sarah, more often than not lying alongside her, his head in her lap and occasionally nudging her tummy with his head. Robert and Sarah gave him funny looks when he did that, Kyra didn't know why though. He had also endeared himself to most of the people in the village already. He was the loyal friend that had stayed with a defenseless little girl and protected her while she slept. Quite often he would be fed titbits of food from the plates of the patrons of The Old Haunt, or be given a bone at the butchers. But he always returned to her side and slept at the foot of her bed every night, not giving up his protection of her.

* * *

Martha, Jenny and Lanie had discussed how best to work Kyra into life in the village. Their biggest concern had been that it may have been too much for the young girl all at once, so Martha inviting the girl to live with her at the cabin had been a stroke of genius. They just hadn't known it at the time. Martha only wanted to give the little girl somewhere safe to live and, she herself had wanted some company while all of her children were gone. Katherine may not be a child of her own body but she loved her dearly and she knew that, God permitting, she would become her daughter through marriage someday soon.

Initially, Kyra had been a way for Martha to distract herself from the worry for her children but the more time she spent with the adorable young girl and her canine companion, the more she came to care for her. Martha had always wanted more children of her own, but her husband had been killed by raiders and she had never truly gotten over his death. Having Kyra and Midnight here had given her a new purpose in life. They had both suffered tragic losses in their lives, but together they were healing. Teaching the youngster everything she knew was reminding Martha that living in the past wasn't good for anyone and she was determined that both herself and Kyra would live in the present and look to the future.

They were becoming closer, Martha and Kyra, and Martha was beginning to look upon the child as another daughter. She would nurture her, teach her, and give her what had been ripped away from her at such a young age. Love and family. She had explained to Kyra all about why Richard and Katherine had been in Stuyvesant Town when they had found the girl after she had asked about them, and had told her all about their love for Alexis and that they wouldn't rest until they found her and brought her home. Kyra had looked fearful when told that raiders had taken Alexis, but had been reassured that the group of friends would find her and bring her home safely. "Like they brought me home safe?" the little girl had asked. "Yes, darling, just like you", Martha had replied.

* * *

Martha, Jenny and Lanie are sitting in main room of The Old Haunt one afternoon while Kyra is out with Gina and Sarah at the river when Captain Roy Montgomery comes in. Upon seeing the ladies all sitting together he grabs a seat from a nearby table and joins them. "I'm glad you are all here together", he says by way of greeting, "It means I only have to go through all of this once." The women all share a fearful glance and look at the Captain somewhat apprehensively. Seeing the look on the women's faces he quickly moves to allay their fears, "Now there is no need for those looks on your faces, everyone is still alive and on their feet. I just wanted to share the news with you that I just received from an old friend of mine in Tudor City."

The women noticeably relax and Roy continues, "Martha, the man who took Alexis from you, Cole Maddox is his name, is dead." At this Martha visibly brightens, hope springing in her chest, and asks, "So they have Alexis and are coming home?" Roy glances down to the surface of the table for a moment before answering. "I'm afraid not Martha. Alexis is alive, that much we know. But the man who took her passed her on to another man, called Lockwood, before Richard and Katherine could get to her. She was spirited out of the city two days before they even found out where Maddox was holed up."

"They had a plan to capture Maddox alive so they could question him and my friend, Captain Victor Gates, lent them help and the use of thirty-two of his men to storm the building he was in. There was a large battle and, Lanie, Javier was injured. He took a sword blow to the leg whilst stopping Maddox from escaping." Lanie looks at the Captain fearfully, tears in her eyes as she asks, "How is he? How bad is it?" She had seen sword wounds many times before in her time as a healer and knew from experience just how bad they could be. "He's OK. Josh treated him immediately and he's moving around on his own again", he answered. Lanie let out a small sob of relief at that while Jenny covered her hand with her own and gave it a small comforting squeeze.

"What are they doing now?" Martha asks, "Do they know where this Lockwood person is taking Alexis?" "They do", answers Roy, "Victor Gates questioned Maddox before hanging him. Richard, Katherine and the others left Tudor City in pursuit a week ago." "And where are they headed? Where is Alexis being taken?" asks Jenny, entering the conversation for the first time. "She's on her way to Morningside Heights via Central Park Forest" says Roy quietly. "Martha sobs out a "No!" with tears springing from her eyes and dread settling in her chest.

* * *

The forest stretches as far as the eye can see in both directions; it looks dark and gloomy in the late evening light. There are Elms, Maple, Walnut, Poplar, Black Birch, Norway Spruce, Hickory, Sycamore and White Pine tree's all mixed in together, growing wherever they can find space and wherever the wind takes their seed. The ground is covered in shrubbery like dogwoods, azalea's, ink-berry and pepper-bush. There are creeper vines stretching up the side of tree's and along the lower branches, hanging from them where moss has dragged the vines down under its weight when wet. There are ferns, interspersed throughout the undergrowth, growing where ever they find space. The forest supports a varied and diverse wildlife: deer, rabbit, turkey, black bear, coyote, and beaver in the wetter areas.

It was dark in the forest but Richard and Katherine were used to that. Javier and Josh had complained they could hardly see not long after they had entered this morning. Kevin had offered to light the way for them using his magic but had been adamantly been told no by both Richard and Katherine. "We don't want anyone to know we are here" he had been told by Katherine.

They were traveling on foot now, having deemed it too dangerous for the horses. That and they didn't want to give away their position by moving too loudly or a horse nickering at the wrong time. They would also leave less visible tracks on foot than they would on horseback. It wouldn't fool an experienced tracker but with Richard scouting ahead and Katherine coming along a few minutes behind the main group they hoped to travel through the forest undetected for as long as possible.

Progress on foot would be slower but with the existing trails more likely to be watched they had decided it would be the safer option. There were raiders in the forest, they knew that, but there were also bandits who made their living preying on travelers who had to make their way through the forest on foot or on horseback because they couldn't afford to pay for passage on one of the many boats that regularly moved along the Hudson or East Rivers. The bandits were just as dangerous as the raiders in their own way, with no law in the woods they could get away with pretty much anything they wanted and travelers were often found dead, and all of their belongings missing, by the next people to pass through.

Richard moved slowly through the undergrowth, scanning around him in all possible directions, including looking up into the canopy of the trees above him, looking for any possible threats. He heard Javi hissing at Josh to try and move more quietly but really, it was like trying to tell a day old babe to eat steak instead of suckling on his mother's teat. Like the babe, he didn't understand and it wasn't going to happen. They moved on until Richard deemed it too dark to proceed any further with any sort of safety. If it was just him and Katherine he would have no compunctions whatsoever about continuing well into the night, so sure was he of their skill and ability in this environment. But with the safety of Javier, Kevin and most of all Josh in his hands he knew they needed to stop for the night soon.

Finding a place that he thought would be sheltered and defensible enough took about another hour, but eventually he found a small outcropping of rock surrounded by a thick clump of trees and bushes with enough loose, low hanging vines that they would be hidden on all sides but all but the most determined person.

They had a cold camp that night, as they would every night they were in the forest, and slept early, each taking a turn a keeping watch while the others slept. Richard and Katherine would take the first and last turns respectively, as they needed to be the most vigilant during the day. The undisturbed sleep would benefit them more than the others. Nearing the end of Richards turn at watch he heard movement outside of their small secluded encampment. He should have woken Katherine at the least but he was confident that they were well enough hidden here and so he waited. He waited until the sounds of movement were further away from their camp and then quietly moved out of the camp to follow whoever it was that was out there. As he left the camp he didn't notice that he wasn't the only one person that was awake.

* * *

Moving quickly and quietly through the night, using the shadows and the light wind to mask his movements Richard made his way back the way they had come earlier that day. After a few minutes he could see a group of men moving back towards the edge of the forest so he swiftly moved off to one side and shadowed the men on a parallel course. Catching up to the men once again he got a better look at them and immediately froze. They were raiders. Around 20 of them, far too many for him to handle even with the help of Katherine and the others. Having seen enough he moved silently back to the camp, stopping every so often and waiting to see if he was being followed.

If Richard had arrived back at the small camp where his friends were just a few minutes earlier, he would have noticed as a shadow had entered and crept back into the camp in the inky black darkness and slipped back into position on its sleeping mat. Arriving in camp Richard moved over to Javi and woke him for his watch, informing him of the raiders he had seen just a few minutes before and telling him to be extra vigilant.

The rest of the night passed without incident and they moved off through the trees both Richard and Katherine even more watchful and careful than they were before as Richard had shared his story from the night before. To say Katherine wasn't pleased with him for following the raiders on his own and not waking anyone would be an understatement. Truthfully, she was furious at him, and after berating him in whispers had secured a promise that he wouldn't do it again, if he was going to be following anyone or going to check out something he would wake her first and they would go together.

They skirted around a small village later that they had come across next to a small pond later that day. Because Josh still didn't know how to move silently they had had to take a wide detour around the place to avoid being detected. Despite being on foot and needing to take detours they were making good progress towards Turtle Lake. If their luck held and they kept making the same progress they had made in the last two days they would be there tomorrow afternoon sometime.

That night when they made camp in an area of dense underbrush that offered only slightly better protection from seeking eyes than none at all, Richard once again reminded everyone to remain vigilant while on their watch. And Katherine reminded Richard not to go off on his own again or she'd kill him herself. While everyone else is asleep that night the person supposed to be on watch slips out of the camp unnoticed and is gone for almost their entire watch. When they get back to camp they slip in quietly and wait until it's time to wake Katherine for her stint.

The trek through the forest over the last two days has been grueling, beyond difficult. She's used to traveling this way but she isn't used to being constantly on the look out for danger and being responsible for the safety of others. Normally it would be just her and Richard, and they share the responsibility. She's beyond tired, feels the exhaustion seeping into every bone in her body. What she wouldn't give for a nice warm bath about now. Drifting between half wakefulness and full sleep, Katherine dreams of sharing a bath with Richard, feeling his warm, safe, comforting arms around her body. She feels more than sees someone enter the camp. 'Camp? Where did that come from? I'm sharing a bath with Richard not in a camp' her sleep addled brain tells her.

The feeling that someone is there watching her as she shares her dream bath with Richard persists. Her eyes flutter open and she sees someone moving around, but her brain refuses to process what she is seeing, her exhaustion is just too strong for her to resist. She hears a softly spoken "Go back to sleep, everything is OK" in a voice she knows she should recognize. She instinctively moves her arms to cover her chest, the only person that is allowed to see her naked is Richard. She mumbles a sleepy "mkay" and sleep pulls her under once more. When she awakes the next morning, she remembers her bath with her lover, but not the late night stalker in the camp.

* * *

Katherine moved through the trees, soundlessly following her group of friends whilst scanning her surroundings. She knew they must be getting close to Turtle Lake by now, the trees were starting to thin out a little and it was getting late in the afternoon. They had expected to be there by now but they had had to stop and take cover for a while as another small band of raiders had passed them by that morning. Again, they had been moving through the trees back in the direction they had just come from. Not for the first time that day Katherine wondered what was going on. Were the raiders looking for them? And if they were then how did they know where to look? Were they banding together for another raid south of the forest? She wished she knew the answers to her questions.

Seeing Josh up ahead Katherine hurried to join him, but in her haste she wasn't paying as much attention to her surroundings as she should be. When she placed her foot into the undergrowth a resounding snap was heard resounding through the forest and she had to fight the urge to scream out in pain. Fighting the agony that was lancing throughout her leg and up into the rest of her body, she looked down and almost fainted at the sight of her ankle caught in the hunters trap. It was a mangled mess and blood was flowing freely.

Josh had spun around on hearing the trap springing closed and hurried back to where Katherine sat on the ground. He swore softly when he saw her ankle, "Shit!" he swore. "I can heal it, but we need to get that thing off you first and clean it up" he said. As he was talking to her Javier and Kevin came running in closely followed by Richard. "What happened?" Richard asked. "I got stupid and stood in a hunters trap" Katherine bit out, fighting against the pain. "We need to get it off her so I can clean and heal it" Josh said, "But it's going to hurt like a bitch and we can't afford to have her scream with the pain" "I'll take care of that part" Kevin said, laying his hands on her leg and mumbling under his breath, then moving his hands to her head and mumbling again. Katherine felt the pain slowly ebb away from her leg as Kevin spoke, and when he placed his hand on her head she slipped into sleep. "Okay, get that thing off her now" Kevin said, and Richard prized open the trap so Josh and Javier could remove her leg.

Josh worked quickly to clean Katherine's leg and bind it. "We need to move her, we can't heal her out here where it can get infected" he told Richard. "I saw a small cottage not too far from here, just at the edge of the tree line around the lake, it's close enough we can take her there" he replies and moves to pick Katherine up. Carrying her through the trees, moving as quickly as they could and not worrying about making any noise they soon arrive at a small cottage, made of tree trunks. Opening the door and heading inside without even bothering to knock Richard places Katherine on the first flat surface he can find, the kitchen table. Seeing an elderly man and woman standing off to one side looking on in astonishment Kevin quickly goes to explain, "I'm sorry we just barged into your home but our friend is injured and we need somewhere clean to heal her so it doesn't become infected." "How did your friend get hurt?" asks the old woman. "She stood in a hunters trap a ways back in the forest" Kevin replied, "Is it one of yours?" "No," the old man replies, "I don't use traps, everything I hunt I take down with a bow or I use a snare."

The old woman hurries across the room to where Josh is treating Katherine and Richard is holding tightly to her hand. "Do you need any help?" asks the old lady. "I need hot water and towels if you have them" Josh answers. The old lady hurries off to get Josh the items he requested as he goes about the healing process, Untying Katherine's leggings at the ankle and carefully moving it up her leg as far as he can. When the old lady comes back Josh immediately takes one of the towels and dips it into the hot water and places it on Katherine's leg, using it as a hot compress. The heat from the towel and the water combine to staunch the flow of blood and he takes another towel, dipping it into the water and sets about cleaning the wound to get a better look at it. Josh worked for over an hour cleaning and healing the wound in Katherine's leg, employing healing magic as well as using herbs for a compress and making a medicine for her to drink to help her regain her strength faster. Richard carried her to the old couple's bed at their insistence and stayed with her through the night. She needed clean towels laid out on her head several times through the night as she was feverish. Josh said this was normal and gave her more of the medicine he had made for her and went into the other room to try and get some sleep claiming he was exhausted from the healing magic he had employed on Katherine.

She showed no improvement over that night, or the following day. Her leg was healed but Katherine remained unconscious and feverish. Josh gave her more of the medicine and changed the dressing on her leg several times over the course of the day. Everyone was in the room hoping that Katherine would pull through soon when Richard noticed her heart rate was slowing down. "Javi! Get Josh! Something isn't right!" he all but shouted. Javi ran out of the room to get Josh but came back minutes later, "He isn't here! He's gone!" "What do you mean he's gone? Gone where?" Richard said worriedly. "I don't know man! I checked inside and outside of the cottage and he ain't anywhere!" "Shit!" Richard shouted, "When we find him I'm gonna kill him!"

Kevin looked at Katherine fearfully, and then disappeared out of the room. Appearing in the square at East Village he ran to Lanie's store and started banging on the door. "Lanie! Lanie, open up!" he cried. A very flustered Lanie appeared at the door still dressed for bed and took one look at Kevin, "What's happened?" she said fearfully. "Kate needs your help, NOW! Before it's too late!" he said and hustled her back through the door and into her bedroom, "Get changed and grab everything you need as quick as you can." He paced around the small room that served Lanie as her store while she quickly dressed, then when she came back out demanding to know what the hell was going on he just said "No time", grabbed her wrist and they disappeared out of the room.

Appearing in the main room of the small cottage Kevin hurried Lanie into the bedroom, when she saw her friend she quickly started examining her leg and was satisfied it was healing correctly. Then she noticed the medicine by her bedside and picked it up and sniffed it. "Where did you get this?" she asked urgently. "Josh made it for Katherine to help break her fever" Richard replied. "Richard! This isn't curing her fever, it's causing it!" Lanie cried. "Where the hell is Josh?" "Gone. Disappeared" Javier said.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This chapter is a bit shorter than the last few, it's also a little different. But I'm planning on explaining things through the story as we continue along on their quest. Thanks again to everyone who has hit follow/favourite or left a review. And thank you again to the lovely Sancturia for beta-reading and being generally confused at me sometimes. Find me on Tumblr at Wilsalx70, also feel free to tell me what you think of the story as a whole or just this chapter.**

**Please note. Every line break in this chapter indicates a switch of POV.**

* * *

She's floating, feeling weightless as she drifts along, towards what she doesn't know. Her eyes refuse to open, arms and legs refuse to move. Voices, whispering all around her, calling her name. She can't focus, doesn't know who's calling to her. Faces racing by, she can't see them, but she knows they are there. She shouldn't see them, shouldn't be able to, her eyes are closed. The voices get clearer. She listens carefully, trying to pick out individual people that she knows from the from wall of sound. There! She recognizes one voice, then another. They shouldn't be here, **can't** be here, they died long ago, killed by raiders. 'How is this possible? She thinks. She feels a light pressure on her brow, like a mother's kiss. A face hovers above hers, her eyes are closed, but she still sees it. The soft features, prominent cheekbones, well sculpted eyebrows, long flowing brunette hair and hazel eyes – Just like...

"Kate!" Kyra shoots up out of bed, sweat beading on her brow and trickling down her cheeks and neck. Oh, it's not all sweat, some of it is tears too. She gasps as she feels the phantom pain shoot up her leg. The tears start flowing even heavier, the pain is too much, the sweat stinging her eyes, making her feel sticky and uncomfortable. The voices still ringing in her head, voices that she shouldn't be able to hear because she's never even met the owners of them. They had died before she was born, murdered, just like her own parents.

Martha comes bustling into the small room given over to Kyra to sleep in. Taking one look at the girl she rushes over to her bedside. "Bad dream darling?" Martha asks. Kyra doesn't answer, just throws herself into Martha's arms, clinging to her tightly and sobbing hard into her chest. Wrapping her arms tightly around the girls tiny frame, Martha soothes her and calms her down. She holds her tightly until the sobs slow and eventually stop; the girl crying until sleep pulls her under once more, exhausted from her emotional outburst, leaving Martha more confused than than when she entered.

* * *

She was confused. The voices were swirling all around her. They were too indistinct for her to recognize individual people. Faces swam around in her peripheral vision, which was weird because her eyes were closed. The pain in her leg was excruciating, her body felt like it was on fire and she couldn't move. The faces came closer, she could see them now, but they still weren't clear to her, like if they had been stood right before her. They were hazy, as if she was seeing them through a gauze veil. Her Mother and Father were there, looking at her with pride but also concern in their eyes. They faded before she was ready to let them go, only to be replaced by Richard. Worry was etched into his handsome features as he gazed down upon her. He disappeared after only a few moments and she frowned, felt a pang of pain in her heart at the loss of all of her loved ones.

A small girl came into view, with long dark brown hair and blue eyes. She looked adorable, as she looked up at here. 'Wait. Up? When did I turn around? I was looking up only a moment before and now I'm looking down? How the hell did that happen?' She thinks to herself. This just gets weirder and weirder, what the hell was happening to her? She leans down and lovingly kisses the young girl on the forehead. She watches the girl as her face contorts in confusion. They recognize each other at the same time, just as they are ripped away from each other. Why had she seen Kyra when all of her loved ones had been there just a moment before? She didn't even know the girl, in truth, she had only met her for a few moments before Kevin had taken her back to the village. She had felt something when she saw the young girl and heard her tale, she knew that. Maybe it was that feeling of both having their parents torn away from them by violence at such an early age? She didn't know, didn't have the energy to ponder over it now either when her body felt like it was burning. Katherine soon slipped back into unconsciousness as the pain slowly slid away again.

* * *

Lanie, stayed with Katherine all night, performing her healing magic on her leg to speed along her recovery. As she worked she wondered what had caused Josh poison her friend. The wound had been cleaned diligently, the bone set properly after it had been broken by the strong jaws of the hunters trap when it snapped closed around it. The blood flow had been staunched and the wound properly closed, it would scar yes but better that than not being able to walk properly ever again. This just didn't make any sense, she was missing something here. Why heal her leg only to kill her with poison?

She watched her friend tiredly, she had to be in excruciating pain yet she looked relaxed, almost if she were asleep in her own bed on any given evening. She was shocked when she saw a small smile form on Katherine's face a few moments after she had mumbled something about her Mother, Father and Richard leaving her. Yes, she thought, there were definitely things here that didn't make sense and needed explaining.

Richard came into the room where Lanie was treating Katherine a little later, he walked over to the bed and sat in a small chair beside it and took her hand in his. "How is she?" he asked of Lanie. "She's getting there, the leg is healing well and I think her temperature is beginning to come down." She replied. "But there is something I don't understand here. Why would Josh, heal her leg so perfectly only to fill her body with poison that would have been sure to kill her?"

Rubbing his hand down his face, Richard answered her saying, "I don't know. I don't understand that either. But I'll be sure to ask him before I kill him"

"I don't know what's going on her mind right now but she was mumbling something earlier about her Mother, Father and you leaving her. She was frowning while she was saying it but then all of a sudden a small smile just appeared on her face. It was weird, it was like something happened and even though she has to be in so much pain right now, she was happy, just for a moment, and then the smile was gone."

"I don't know what it was but if it left her smiling instead of being in pain then I'll take it and be thankful for it" Richard said. "I would take any and all pain from if her I could. I hate that she's like this." Lanie reaches over the bed and covers his hand where he holds Katherine's and gives it a small squeeze. "You really do love her don't you?" she asks. "I really do" he replies, "There is nothing I wouldn't do for her. And when we end this thing I plan on asking her to marry me. Seeing her here like this, so fragile and vulnerable, has made me realize that I can't and don't want to live without her by my side."

They stay silent for a while after that, until Richard eventually breaks the silence saying "When was the last time you slept Lanie? You look exhausted." "Before I got here. There was just too much to do and my girl here needed me" she answers. "Then tell me what to do and try to get some sleep" Richard says. Lanie shows him how much medicine to give Katherine and how to administer it and then curls up in a chair in the corner of the room, leaving her friend in the hands of her lover for a time, trusting him to wake her if anything changes.

* * *

Richard watches as the woman he loves more than he ever thought it was possible to love, lies in the bed where she had been moved after her leg had been healed. 'She's so beautiful' he thinks, 'So much more than I deserve'. He wants to hate his mother for not telling him the truth about his family, but in all honesty, he can't really blame her for hiding it when it has caused so much pain and hardship for so many people, including the woman lying on the bed before him.

As he considers this he comes to the realization that if not for his mothers past actions he wouldn't have met Katherine at all. And he wouldn't have Alexis, the sister he adores so much. Or any of his other friends now that he thinks about it. His friends... What they have done for him, and for Katherine... He'll never be able to repay that debt. They have put their lives on hold and in danger for them. Javier took a nasty cut to his leg from a sword while stopping Maddox from escaping, and Kevin... He knows he owes Katherine's life to Kevin's quick thinking. If he hadn't seen there was something seriously wrong as soon as he did Katherine might not be alive now. Using his magic to bring Lanie here without even stopping to think about it... Yeah, he definitely owes him big. And Lanie, she was dragged out of bed and brought here with no explanation and took immediate action, no mess, no fuss, no questions. Until she found the 'medicine' Josh had been giving Katherine. She had just got straight to work and began healing the woman he loved, and reversed the damage that treacherous bastard Josh had caused.

Josh would pay. First they would get answers, and then he would pay dearly for what he had done. Richard is pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Katherine sighing. Looking over at her, he sees a small, almost blissful looking, little smile on her face and he wonders to himself just what is going on in her head to put that smile there.

* * *

She sees it again as she rides away, looking back at her parents. She's not alone this time either, but instead of Alexis riding behind her, it's Kyra. The image changes and she's looking down at their graves again, only it's not Montgomery's arms around her this time. Kyra is holding her tightly, comforting her as she falls apart, just as Roy did all those years ago. Another shift, and she sees a tiny Kyra run as fast as her chubby little legs will carry her to her hiding place. She sees when Kyra returns to find the whole town burnt to the ground and townsfolk littering the ground around her, their cold lifeless eyes staring up but seeing nothing. She's there when Kyra finds her parents lying on the ground outside of their destroyed home. The attack had come so fast that they never had a chance to get more than a few steps before they had been cut down, after spending too long watching their daughter get to safety.

She watches as Kyra moves around the town trying to find someone, anyone, but everything and everyone she knew is gone. The young girl walked blindly around the corner of a building and finds a small puppy nudging at it's mother with it's nose, whimpering loudly as it's mother doesn't move. The rest of the litter lie dead on the ground around their fallen mother.

'Three children orphaned' she thinks. 'Two human and one canine. All losing their parents to senseless violence.' If she was awake she knows there would be tears flowing down her cheeks, from red rimmed eyes. She grips Kyra's hand tighter and pulls the girl into a tight hug, comforting her as she had been comforted herself by the small child.

The images in their minds shift and they see the faces from before. Once again, they are hazy and indistinct, viewed from through the gauze veil. Katherine looks down at Kyra as the young girl reaches out a hand somehow, someway, she rips the gauze aside. They see two women, smiling back at them before turning to each other and falling into each others arms. What astonishes Katherine the most is how the two women look so much alike, especially since one of them is her mother. Judging by the look on Kyra's face, it's a safe bet the other is her mother. The two women are so much alike you would easily imagine them to be sisters, but with no living relatives it's impossible to know for sure. The last thing they see before the gauze falls back into place is their fathers, pointing at the two women, and that at the two onlookers. With a small smile and a nod to them the faces disappear, and so does Kyra.

Katherine is back in the camp, having her dram bath with Richard when she feels the eyes on her again. She hears someone say "Go back to sleep, everything is OK." She knows everything isn't OK though, she was injured, so she knows she isn't in the camp this time. Her 'dream' eyes open fully this time and dispel the dream of the bath with Richard, and she sees Josh, coming back in to camp. A quick glance around and she knows everyone else is asleep, so where had Josh been?

Her eyes fly open and take in the room, that's thankfully dull as it still isn't full daylight yet. "Richard" she says. His face looms over her as he answers "I'm here love" "It was Josh, she says. "He was sneaking out of camp at night" Richards face clouds over as he says "How do you know? Did you see him?" "Not exactly" she replies, and tells him all about the bath they shared in her dream and how when she was half asleep she heard him moving around but her brain didn't process it. Richard thinks for a moment and then "That makes sense. We knew our movements were being tracked, we knew they were looking for us. They only way they could have possibly known where we were was if someone was telling them. It had to be Josh. And Josh did this to you too, put you in this bed for the last three days. He almost killed you Kate. God if it hadn't been for Kevin's quick thinking and Lanie's skill you wouldn't be here now" he finishes, tears gathering in his eyes as he remembers just how close he came to losing her. "Hey, hey" she says softly, her hand snaking out to grab his and intertwine their fingers "He didn't kill me, I'm here with you. And I'm not leaving you any time soon."

* * *

Kyra wakes up, tired and confused. She had just seen her parents and Kate's parents. She had seen them all before they died and after. How had she seen Kate's parents, she didn't even know them? When she had seen Kate's mother with her mommy though it was like looking at the same person in a looking glass. Or two sisters that looked exactly alike... what were they called again? Oh yeah, twins. It was like looking at twins. She remembered Kate's arms around her as she looked at herself finding her parents outside her home. 'She likes Martha' she thinks to herself, 'but there is just something about Kate that is different, special even.' She had seen it that night when her and Richard had found her, they didn't have to help her, they could have just hurt Midnight and took her if that's what they had wanted to do, but they didn't. They helped her. Helped Midnight too and brought them both here.

She had felt over the last few days that Katherine was hurt, she could feel her pain when she was with her in her dreams. Had it been getting better though and when she woke up today she hadn't felt the pain as she had before, it was gone now. 'Maybe Lanie will be coming home soon and she'll be able to tell me what happened.'


	11. Chapter 11

Katherine had been dozing on and off over the last day. She hadn't had any more of the weird dreams that she had seemed to share with Kyra, but they had been playing heavily on her mind in the times she had been awake. It had been confusing and she didn't understand any of it. She had told Richard of the dreams and he was as confused as she herself was. He had come up with a suggestion that made perfect sense though, a way to maybe get some answers. "You should talk to the only two people we know that have any understanding of magic" he had said. Kevin and Lanie, she thought. Surely between them they could come up with some sort of logical explanation for all of this. Right?

She had managed to convince Lanie to allow her out of bed, citing her dignity as an excuse, and her stubbornness had finally paid off when Lanie huffed and gave in. So here she was sitting at the kitchen table with her friends, waiting for her friends to reply after having told them all about her dreams.

It was Lanie that answered first. "It's well documented in all of the texts I've read at Brookdale that twins seem to have a natural affinity, a connection, if you will, to each other that siblings don't normally share. What we don't know is how or why it happens. It could be some sort of latent magical ability, there are certainly enough cases to show that the ability to perform magic tends to run in families. I've also seen for myself a few cases of one child hurting themselves and their twin holding the affected area on themselves and start crying for no apparent reason. Even when they are in separate rooms or buildings!" she exclaims.

"That's just freaky. But we obviously aren't twins" Kate points out. "No, you aren't, but, if what you saw in your dreams is correct then your mothers were" Lanie says. "My mother never even mentioned having a sister though" Kate protests. "Or any family at all for that matter" she says thoughtfully. "Why would she never tell me about her? Or any of her family? Dad never mentioned it either" "I don't know sweetie" Lanie says, "Maybe something happened in the family before you were born, something that caused them to be separated."

Kevin listened to the conversation as he mulled over what he had heard so far and organized his own thoughts. Eventually though he entered the conversation with "What Lanie is saying makes sense. In all of the scriptures I've read back in Tribeca, one thing that I noticed was that magical ability does tend to be passed through families. It doesn't necessarily happen like that all of the time though. Sometimes it skips generations, and there have been instances of magical ability appearing in someone that has had no contact with any type of magic at all, not even in the distant past of their family history." He gets up from the table and paces back and forth across the room for a few moments, thinking hard, before stopping, and turning around to look at the two women. "Did your mother ever exhibit signs that she knew magic or anything that seemed magical in nature? Anything that couldn't be explained logically or rationally?" he asks. "No. Nothing that I can remember at least" Kate answers, "But it's been almost 16 years Kevin." "Mmmm, true" He muses, "You wouldn't really remember much I guess. You were what, six, maybe seven years old when she dies?" Katherine nods her head numbly as she answers "I was seven" she says.

"Kyra is only about seven now too" Lanie chips in. Looking at Kevin, Lanie asks "When does latent magical ability usually manifest itself? I've never read anything that gives any indication." Kevin thinks for a moment before replying, "Usually around puberty, but in times of acute stress it's been known to manifest earlier."

"So, is it possible that if both mothers were twins that they had this... 'psychic ability', for want of a better phrase, and it's been passed to Kate and Kyra? Or maybe just Kyra since Kate has never mentioned anything like this before." at this she glances at Katherine for confirmation and Kate just shakes her head no. "And this could be this ability manifesting early in Kyra?" Lanie finishes. Kevin thinks for a moment, blinking rapidly as he contemplates the ramifications, "It's possible" he says, "Unlikely, but definitely possible. She would need to be tested to be sure though." "Why do you say unlikely?" Katherine asks. "Because it's pretty much unheard of for someone so young to manifest the ability so young. I've only heard of one other such person and in her case the ability she had and the power she was able to wield once she came to her full power is immense." "Who was that? You speak as if you knew her" Kate said. "I do know her. She's my master in Tribeca. She is Master Jordan, the King's magician."

Richard had been sitting quietly in a corner of the room, listening intently to the conversation, "What of the link to Kate?" he asks, "You have explained a lot of how it's possible for magic to be present in Kyra, but not the link to Kate, that has them seeming to share a dream. If indeed that is what is actually happening. In fact, we still don't even know if Kyra has experienced these dreams too" he points out. "He's right" Kate says, "At the moment all we know for sure is what has happened in my dreams. It could all have been just my imagination caused by the fever."

Lanie thinks for a moment, "You're right. I'll check in with Kyra and Martha when I get back tomorrow. You're fit enough to travel now and I'll leave you some more of the medication to help keep your strength up before I leave. I'll have a talk with Kyra when she comes by for her lessons and take it from there. If she hasn't experienced the dreams we'll put it down to the fever causing hallucinations. If she has experienced them then I can send word to the masters at Brookdale and arrange for a testing."

"You should send word to my mentor too, Master Jordan, at the castle in Tribeca" says Kevin, "that way Kyra will be tested for both schools of magic at once. There is no need to disrupt her studies any more than necessary."

The conversation digressed into other topics and before everyone got up to head to their sleeping mats they had a plan in place for the next day, with Kevin returning Lanie to the village and bringing more supplies back to the cottage with him. Some of the supplies would stay with the elderly couple as payment and thanks for their generous help and understanding over the last few days, and the remainder would go with the group of friends as they continued on with their journey to find Alexis.

* * *

Kevin arrived back the next afternoon after returning Lanie to East Village and gathering extra supplies. While he had been gone the rest of the friends had considered staying an extra night at the small cottage but had quickly decided against it. They had lost enough time already, they had been here for almost a week due to the injury to Kate and Richard was desperate to get back on the trail of Lockwood and his sister. When they left the cabin they set a punishing pace to try and make up as much lost time as they could, only stopping to sleep at night. They even ate their meals as they walked.

Katherine was spared her turn of watching the camp at night as she still needed to regain her lost strength, although the medicine Lanie had given her was helping with that. She was still exhausted each night when it came time to stop for the evening and was generally fast asleep before the others had sorted out the watch rotation.

Four days after leaving the cottage they had exited the forest and they were all glad to be out of the dark oppressive atmosphere. They had bought horses from the first village they had encountered once out of the forest. They had discovered they had turned more northward than they had intended whilst traveling under the canopy of the trees and so had needed to turn due west in order to once again be headed to the northern city of Morningside Heights.

The closer they got to the city, the darker and more introspective Javier's thoughts became. He remembered the journey he had made that had taken him from his home in Peekskill to the city of Tribeca and from there to East Village.

* * *

_3 years ago..._

_Javier hated his job, he had joined the army in his home town of Peekskill because there had been talk of a war brewing between his home city and the neighboring city of Yorktown. He had planned on being ready for the war by training as early as he could by joining the army instead of being conscripted when the war broke out. He would have a better chance of survival with more training right?_

_Unfortunately all the talk of war between the neighboring cities was just that.. talk. He had been training hard for a war that never came, in an army that he never truly loved. All he had wanted was to give himself a better chance of survival. He enjoyed the job itself, the discipline suited him and the money wasn't bad either he supposed. But that was all there was to the job, nothing ever happened that required the army to intervene. Even the local guardsmen that patrolled the streets at night saw more action than he did._

_He had heard rumors of a land weeks to the south along the Hudson river that was having trouble with towns and villages being raided and their people murdered. He thought that he could at least be of more use there than he could here. At least he would actually be doing something to help people instead of standing around here looking pretty in his uniform. And he did look pretty in his uniform, he had been told so many times by the local ladies. Some of the looks they had given him looked to him like they wanted to eat him alive. That was the only part of his job that he liked, the perks of a man in uniform._

_He had thought long and hard before going to his commanding officer, his mind made up and had resigned from the army, citing his reason as wanting to head south to Tribeca and help the people there. He had duly been discharged and wished well in his undertaking. Taking a ship heading to Tribeca from the docks he had traveled for many days and nights, sleeping on the deck of the ship as he couldn't afford to rent the cabin. _

_They had stopped off at various places on their way south, dropping off and picking up cargo and passengers. They were passing the city of Morningside Heights one evening, a week before they were due to pull into port in Tribeca, when they were set upon by a flotilla of small boats. The men had swarmed up the sides of the boat and killed the captain and half the crew. Javier knew he could have fought the men but he was vastly outnumbered and decided to wait it out and see what happened. The men had taken the boat and docked it in Morningside Heights where they began unloading everything on it onto wagons at the dockside. _

_His hiding place had been discovered and he had taken a heavy beating and been thrown into the back of one of the wagons and taken to the guardhouse. When he was awoken by a guard throwing a bucket of slop water on him he discovered he had been thrown into a cell. He been there for weeks, beaten daily for no apparent reason other than the guards were bored. He was fairly certain he had broken ribs, it was painful whenever he tried to breathe, his nose had been broken, his eyes were swollen shut and he could barely stand on his own two feet. He was convinced that one day soon the guards were going to get bored with beating him and just kill him._

_He had been right about them getting bored of him. They had beaten him senseless one afternoon until he lost consciousness and when he awoke he found himself on a trash heap. Silently offering up a prayer of thanks he had managed to sneak his way out of the city and made his way south on foot. He must have passed out at some point because he found himself inside a house in a small village being taken care of by a beautiful young woman with long blond hair and a body to die for. "Okay" he had thought "I'd rather have someone with a body to live for instead of one to die for." She had nursed him back to health over the course of two weeks until he was strong enough to leave once more. He had promised he would come see her if he ever visited this way again, after telling her he couldn't give her what she needed. She had cried quietly as he left and he felt remorseful for having given her hope, but he knew he couldn't stay._

_He had traveled through the forest he now knew to be Central Park Forest and managed to avoid all of the raider camps only by chance. He had stumbled upon one by accident and only managed to get away by chance when the men chasing him and ran straight by him when he tripped and fell into a small hole that had been covered by undergrowth._

_When he had arrived in the city of Tribeca two weeks later he had immediately made himself known to the Captain of the guard. The man had offered him a place in the guard and posted him to East Village. That was when he had met Lanie and Kevin, his first two real friends in this kingdom, as they traveled together towards the village he would soon come to call home._

* * *

They entered the village just before nightfall and Javier went immediately to the house he remembered from his time after leaving Morningside Heights and knocked on the door. The same blond haired woman he remembered so well opened it and stared in shock as she saw who stood before her on the threshold to her home. "Javier..." she said. "Hello Selena" he replied, "It's good to see you again." Selena invited Javier and his friends inside and after they had entered and introductions were made she said "I thought I'd never see you again after you left." Kevin, Richard and Katherine looked at each other wondering who this woman was and how she knew Javi. Seeing the looks on his friends faces Javier quickly told them the story of how he had come to be here before and how Selena had nursed him back to health. "And left me with a broken heart" Selena admitted softly. "You know I couldn't stay" Javi said gently "They would have found out I was here eventually" "I know" she replied "They came a few weeks after you left. We told them we hadn't seen you. Why did you come back? Why now?"

Javi quickly filled Selena in on what had happened at East Village and what they were planning on doing. Richard and Katherine both looked a little uncomfortable at the amount of information Javi was giving this woman but trusted his judgment and stayed silent. Selena thought quickly and said "Maybe I know someone who can help" "Who? And help in what way?" Richard asked. "My uncle is a man of a certain set of skills, that occasionally lead him to be in places that he shouldn't be" she says. "He's a thief" Katherine surmises. "A purveyor of questionable goods, he calls himself" Selena laughs out "But yes, to anyone else he would be called a thief."

"How would he be able to help us?" Javi asks. "There is an organization within Morningside Heights, a band of thieves, pickpockets, and the like. My uncle is a part of this group and regularly arranges for items or sometimes people to smuggled out of the city via the sewers. He should be able to get you into the city in the same way" Selena answers.

Richard thinks for a few moments before turning to Katherine, Kevin and Javier, a questioning look in his eyes. Each of them nod in return, agreeing this could be their only chance of entering the city undetected. "Okay, contact your uncle and have him make the arrangements." Richard says, "The sooner we get inside the city the sooner I get my sister back."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thanks once more to everyone continuing to follow this story. Also thanks to Sancturia for beta reading and offering her suggestions and also to Bluemoonfan for her encouragement and kind words. Let me know what you think by leaving a review. Find me on Tumblr: Wilsalx70**

* * *

As it turns out Javier hadn't traveled as far as he thought when he had been escaping from Morningside Heights before collapsing unconscious. The village he and his friends now found themselves in was less than a half days ride outside of the city. Selena had been true to her word and had managed to send word to her Uncle within the city. To say the friends were surprised when a dark skinned man had entered the small house and Selena greeted him as her brother would have been an understatement. Her 'brother' had introduced himself as Norman, and proclaimed to be a locksmith, although everyone had a fairly good idea that what he really meant was, he was good at picking locks and getting into places he had no right to be.

Norman and Selena, between them, told how they came to be related, telling a tale of a group of young children forging an unbreakable bond in an orphanage. They had survived by stealing food and whatever else they needed from the local merchants street stalls. Working as a team, one or two of the children would provide a distraction to unsuspecting merchants whilst the others would pilfer the goods from his stall. It had worked well and none of the children had ever went cold or hungry.

They had come across a member of the local thieves organization known as The Black Spot, so named because all members were tattooed with a black spot above their hearts when they were accepted into the organization as fully fledged members. The man had been lying in an alley, badly beaten and close to death. He had entreated the children to go to a certain building in one of the seedier parts of town and knock on the door in a particular pattern and tell the people within what had happened and where to find him.

They had been offered protection from The Black Spot as payment for their help and came to learn the man they had helped was a leader of sorts within the organization. As the children grew they learned more and more techniques for thieving and they entered into the guild as full members. The man the small group of friends had helped that night, had risen in the ranks to take control of the guild and had taken the children under his wing and treated them as family, claiming them as nieces and nephews. All had been marked with the spot, to signify their place within the guild, all except Selena. She had been asked to remain apart from the brethren, although still as a member. With her beauty she would be much more valuable on the outside. She could be used to gain information from wealthy businessmen in the city by acting as an escort for them to local functions. She was also able to use her skills for sneaking around the businessman's homes late at night while they slept and discover ledgers, and the location of safes that could then be passed to other members of the guild.

This had worked well until she had been discovered by one of her marks late one night and she had been beaten and thrown into the streets naked where the local guards had found her and raped her. Selena had been discovered by a thief who had been passing by along the rooftops on her way home from emptying a particularly wealthy merchants strongbox when she had happened to glance down and see her lying in the street battered, bruised and naked. The Black Spot had kept its promise of protection and the guards and the businessman who had discovered her had been found dead the next day.

After she had recovered she had been found a place to live in the countryside, unable now to perform her former role as it was too traumatic for her. Now she lived here in the small house in the village and provided safe haven and healing for members of the guild that found themselves in trouble and needing help or a safe refuge.

"We can get you into the city through the sewer system" Norman says, once they have finished their tale, "It'll stink and you'll need a good bath once you exit the system but we can set you up in one of our safe houses but you'll need to swear an oath that you will never mention our part in getting you into the city or where you are housed. We may not be able to use that building again for some time but if it gets your sister back and rids us of Bracken then it'll be worth the inconvenience to us." "You have my word that none of us will ever mention anything that you do to help us or how we came into contact with you" Richard replies, looking pointedly at Selena, trying to reassure her.

"Okay, then we will stay here tonight and head into the city in the morning" Norman says, "and from there we'll try to figure out a way to get you into the castle."

* * *

Lanie had been back in East Village for five days now, and Kyra was proving to be more and more of a conundrum to her. The girl had admitted after two days that she had seen the same things in her dreams as Katherine had. But more, she seemed to have a connection with everything and everyone around her. Dogs, cats, even cows and sheep had seemed drawn to her from what the villagers were telling Lanie. Apparently over the last few days, ever since her shared dream with Katherine it was as if something had awoken in the girl. It was becoming increasingly obvious that she had latent magical ability of some sort, but in which discipline would it eventually manifest? She seemed to have a psychic connection to Kate, animals were drawn to her, so she was surely empathetic which meant she would be a natural as a healer. But would her talents manifest in other ways too? It was definitely possible given her mental powers if she could communicate over such distances through dreams alone. What could she become if her mind were properly trained?

She had spoken to Captain Montgomery a few days ago and he had agreed to send one of his guardsmen to the city of Tribeca with a message for Master Jordan, detailing all of the suspicions about Kyra and asking if she could pass on the message to the masters at Brookdale Healing Center inquiring if Kyra could be tested. She hadn't expected a response so fast. Master Jordan had appeared in the village square with Master Perlmutter from Brookdale within hours of receiving the message.

Master Jordan was not what one would expect of the most powerful magician in the kingdom. She was short with ruddy colored red hair, wearing leather pants and vest that clung to her figure, in place of the more traditional robes. The staff she carried was bigger than she was, and topped with a round crystal held in place by what appeared to be a claw of some kind.

Lanie looked at Master Perlmutter and groaned inwardly, 'Of all the people the masters could have sent they had to choose him' she thinks. The man was acerbic and ill tempered and entirely the wrong kind of personality to talk to a girl of seven. What the hell had they been thinking? Master Perlmutter looks around the village square, distaste evident on his face while Master Jordan seems to find the area quaint. "How can you live in a place like this Miss Parish?" Perlmutter asks. "I like it here, and this is my home now, I doubt if I'll be returning to Brookdale. My friends are here." Jordan looks from Lanie to Perlmutter, her eyes narrowing at the man before her. "Excuse a moment please Lanie" Jordan says and before Lanie can even form a reply Master Jordan has placed a hand on Perlmutter's shoulder and they have disappeared.

* * *

A short time later Master Jordan reappears with her arm linked around the arm or another man, he is balding and much more relaxed looking then Perlmutter. "Master Murray, Clark, it's so good to see you" says Lanie on an exhaled breath that sounds a lot like relief. "How are you Lanie?" Master Clark Murray asks. "Better now that Perlmutter is gone" she replies with a nod and a smile to Jordan, "Who's bright idea was it to send him anyway? He is entirely the wrong person to send to speak to a seven year old girl."

"Actually, it was his own idea. He was gone before we even knew of the request." Jordan chips in with "He told he was the person with the most skill at detecting latent talent in the center. Obviously he meant talent for being out of the way." Lanie barked out a laugh "Oh he was kept out of the way as often as possible. He's good at his job but no-one ever wants to be around him because of his less than stellar personality." "Well he's gone now and I am very interested in meeting this young girl, Kyra, is it?" Clark asks. Jordan nods in agreement as Lanie replies "It is. She is such a wonderful young girl, although she may be a little shy when you first meet her. She has opened up well since she came here and even more so since her shared dreams with Katherine, but she's still apprehensive about meeting strangers."

"That's okay, we will only be around her for as long as it takes to perform the test and we will do that at a pace that she herself sets." offered Jordan. "Absolutely" agreed Clark, "These tests will only be to ascertain how her mind is able to do certain things. According to Master Jordan here, you have already deduced that she has an affinity with people and animals. That would be a remarkable benefit for a healer. Imagine being able to be inside a persons mind as you heal them, calming them, and having them be able to tell you what is wrong with them with their mind alone."

"Well, Kyra should be out at the cottage she is currently living in with Martha, Katherine's boyfriends mother. Let's go see her shall we? I'll arrange for horses, with the Captain." Lanie says. "No need for horses Lanie" Jordan says, reaching for her hand, "Picture the cottage in your mind if you will please." Lanie, pictures the idyllic cottage in her mind, with it's fenced off herb and vegetable garden and the surrounding trees. "Jordan closes her eyes for a moment and they all disappear from the square, reappearing moments later outside the cottage.

Still a little disoriented from the quick change of location, Lanie calls out "Martha, Kyra? Are you here?" A moment later the door to the cottage flies open and Kyra appears, running to Lanie squealing excitedly, "Lanie!" and wrapping her arms around her legs tightly. "Hey sweetie!" Lanie says with a smile, "How are you doing today? Have you been having fun with Martha?" "Yes!" she answers, "Martha has been showing me how to make little men from sticks we found in the woods." "Wow, that's so cool, maybe you can show me sometime" Jordan said, smiling kindly down at the girl.

Kyra startled a little, not having noticed the man and woman with Lanie until Jordan had spoken. She sidled up behind Lanie's leg and clung on a little tighter. "It's okay sweetie, these are friends of mine. Remember I told you that I told my friends all about you and how smart you are?" Lanie says gently. The little girl nods shyly. "well they thought you sounded so adorable and sweet that they were excited to come meet you too." "They did?" Kyra asks, eyes wide in surprise. "Uh huh", Lanie says. "The man is Master Murray and he taught me how to heal people. And this lady right here? Her name is Master Jordan, and she is teaching Kevin how to use magic." "She is? Kyra asks. "I am sweetie, and Kevin sent me a message using his magic telling me how special he thinks you are and he asked me to come see you too. Just like Lanie did" Jordan tells her.

"Lanie tells me you have a dog" Murray says gently to Kyra, "Can you call him for me?" Kyra nods her head shyly. Midnight comes running around the corner of the cottage and heads right over to Kyra and sits by her side, tail wagging. "Did she... or did...?" Jordan, Murray and Lanie share a look of amazement. "Kyra? Did you just call him with your mind?" Kyra nods her head slowly. "Can you show us something else sweetie?" Lanie asks, "Tell him to fetch something for us." Midnight runs off into the trees around the cottage and shortly comes back carrying a stick. Kyra pats his head and throws the stick for him. The adults all stand with stunned looks on their faces for a few moments. "I know you said Kyra was special, but this is... this is unheard of" Murray says.

Murray spoke at length with Kyra about her studies with Lanie and Martha, trying to ascertain how much she knew about herbs. What kind grew where, and how to use them in different medicines and was surprised to learn that Lanie had been teaching the girl to read and to write as part of her studies.

Jordan also tried a few simple things with Kyra to test her level of talent for magic, including things like moving objects with her mind, or trying to block a tree from being hit with a rock or a stick. The girl passed every test set before her, by both Murray and Jordan. The two masters walked away a short distance to discuss their conclusions and came back a short time later.

"We would like you to continue with Kyra's studies Lanie, and with your own too. However I am going to recommend that your studies be conducted here, in East Village" Murray said. "Kyra shows a remarkable aptitude in not only healing but also for magic too. We," he indicated Jordan here too, "would like to send you material for Kyra to read as part of her studies, and also more texts for you to read so you may continue your own studies toward joining the ranks of the master healers."

Jordan chipped in with "I shall be instructing Kevin to be here more often and helping Kyra with her magical studies too. And when the time comes Kyra will be offered a position to join me as an apprentice. Kevin shall soon be joining the ranks of novices in my school and will be relied upon more heavily as a teacher. Let's say for now that teaching Kyra will be good practice for him, and an ideal way for the girl to begin understanding the ways in which magic can help our everyday lives."

"We have hopes that one day Kyra may be able to utilize her abilities in ways that we cannot, as we are bound by one discipline whereas Kyra does not appear to be so constrained. Maybe some day a school of magic and medicine can be established within Tribeca and both disciplines can be taught under one roof."

Lanie is stunned, not only are they asking her to continue her studies and move up to the rank of master healer, but they are asking her to continue with Kyra's studies too. And Kevin will be joining them in East Village more often too when he returns with the others. At least Jenny will be happy with having Kevin around more. "I don't know what to say... thank you, both of you" Lanie says. Kyra looks up at Lanie, "I'm going to be learning more with you and Kevin?" "Yes sweetie, you'll be learning lots more. And so will I apparently" she replies.

Jordan smirks as she looks at Lanie, "You know... Maybe Perlmutter would like to come and assist you in your goal to join the ranks of master" Lanie looks at her sharply "What? No!" "Are you sure? I could go get him right now if you want" Jordan replies teasingly, "I'm pretty sure he would love to stay and help you correct all of your flaws." "I have flaws? What flaws?" asks Lanie, shocked that the woman before her thinks she has flaws that need to be corrected. "Oh you know, your obviously compassionate, empathetic nature, your fun loving demeanor. All of the things that make you the opposite of him" Jordan answered with a smirk. Lanie glared at the woman and said "If you weren't able to turn me into a pile of smoking bones, I'mma smack you right now." Jordan and Murray burst out laughing.

* * *

The sewers DO stink, in fact stink is an understatement. Katherine doesn't even want to think what they are walking through right now, it's too disgusting to even contemplate. They had entered the sewers an hour ago, and if it wasn't for Norman leading them they would have been completely lost fifty-five minutes ago, she was sure of it. The only person in their group that didn't seem to be affected by the stench cloying the air around them, besides Norman, was Kevin. When asked how he could just ignore it he had replied "I have been making potions for years now as part of my studies, sometimes they go wrong and it smells pretty much like this, sometimes worse." Katherine heard a gagging noise from Javier who was behind her, and Norman saying "We're almost there, we will be exiting the sewers in a few moments into a basement in the building you will be staying in while you are in the city. You will be able to bathe and wash your clothes when we get there. I will arrange for fresh clothes to be 'obtained' for you." No-one missed the emphasis on the word obtained. "By obtain you mean steal" says Katherine. "No no no! We do not steal. That implies we are breaking laws. If something comes into our possession then we have obtained it" Norman replied. "And being a locksmith?" inquires Kevin. "I merely provide a service. If someone tells me they cannot enter their home or place of business then I facilitate them by providing access. If the person has not been honest with me, then how am I to know?"

"You just have an answer for everything for you don't you" Javier says. "I'm a bit of a wordsmith" Norman answers, "I've always had this way with uh... uh..." "Words?" Richard offers. Norman points at him in agreement. They would all be thankful for a bath and the fresh clothes and would forget how those clothes would find their way into their hands.

They exited into a small, dank basement that was dimly lit by a small lantern hanging in the center of the room. There was a staircase leading up off to the right hand side of the room that appeared to stop at a blank wall. Norman went up the staircase and slipped his belt knife into a small crack next to the edge of the stair rail and a the wall sprung forward softly revealing a door. As they passed into the room above they were amazed at what they saw. They were in a brothel...


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in this chapter, I found it kind of difficult to write. I knew where I wanted it to go and how to get there but the words weren't flowing. Massive thank you to Sancturia for pointing out what was missing, and the result of that is an extra 2k or so words. Thanks to everyone for continuing to read. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

The brothel was obviously intended for a wealthier class of patron. The rooms they had passed through had all been elegantly appointed with what was obviously expensive fittings and furnishings. The girls were all beautiful and dressed in a finer quality of clothes. There had been no patrons in the rooms they had been led through but there had been a small number of girls relaxing, some in various states of undress and all openly appraising the men as they went by.

Katherine had punched Richard in the arm and given him a look that would fell a mightier man when she caught him openly staring at the women around them. Javier chuckled when Richard lowered his eyes and continued walking after Norman, until that is, Katherine turned her deadly glare on him and Kevin with a raised eyebrow. Both men blanched and scurried along after Richard while all the women in the room laughed at them.

Katherine followed along behind the men but not before treating the other women in the room to a look that promised a slow and painful death to anyone that so much as looked at her man or the men of her friends. The rooms in the back of the building that had been set aside for their use during their stay, were not as well appointed as the rooms they had passed through earlier, but were still more comfortable than any they had ever used before. Katherine and Richard took one room, with Kevin and Javier taking the other.

Norman had left soon after, telling them that he would be back later in the evening, after making arrangements for them to get into the castle. Katherine had wasted no time after he had left in showing Richard exactly what she thought of his looking at the women in the brothel. She had closed the door and turned on him, pushing him towards the bed, with one pointed finger pressing hard into his chest. Taking off her leather trousers and top, she had advanced on him with a predatory look in her eyes and saying "No more looking at the tramps out there." She climbed onto the bed and over his body saying "Mine!" Katherine let herself be noisy in their lovemaking, knowing that it would blend in with the noise coming from the rest of the building.

* * *

Norman had arrived back at the Brothel shortly before night had fallen. "An associate of ours within the castle has agreed to help get you into the castle. She works in the kitchens and has no love for Bracken. We'll be leaving as soon as you are ready to go." The friends had gathered their weapons and indicated they were ready. Moving through the city, keeping to the shadows wherever possible as they moved towards the castle. Slipping through alleyways, and along empty streets until they arrived at a side gate of the castle. Two guards stood outside, looking bored and not expecting anyone to approach the little used gate. Weapons laid against the wall, forgotten as they spoke quietly. "We'll need to take out the guards quickly and quietly" Norman says. Richard and Katherine unlimber their bows and notch arrows to the bowstrings, quickly taking aim on the guards. With a glance to ensure Katherine was ready, Richard releases his arrow, Katherine's quickly following behind, both projectiles finding their mark and the guards silently collapsed to the ground, dead.

They ran from the shadows, running across the road to the gate and picked up the bodies, quickly moving them into the shadows deep inside of the alley they had just left. Entering through the now unattended gate Norman leads them towards a small door across the courtyard from where they stood, and on the side of the castle. Smaller buildings are dotted around the edges of the walls surrounding the castle; stables, workshops for fletchers, blacksmiths, and quarters for soldiers and servants.

They entered the small door into what appeared to be the kitchen. A young blond woman startled at the people creeping in through the door. Seeing Norman she immediately relaxed. "This is Madison, she's the person I told you would be here to help us" Norman told the others. Everyone visibly relaxed and Richard asked "Do you know if there is a young woman here? She would be around 20, long red hair, very pale skin." "There is a woman that arrived a few days ago, no-one has seen her but we know a new woman was brought in late at night. The castle staff have been taking women's clothes and feminine scents for bath water into a room every day since she got here." "Then you know where this woman is inside the castle then?" Katherine asks. "Yes, I'll take you there" Madison replies.

Norman warned everyone "Most people won't think anything of it if you look as if you know where you are going and as if you should be there. Relax and act normally" They moved through the castle halls, quickly and quietly. The halls were surprisingly quiet but Madison said that was normal. The few people they did meet didn't so much as give them a second glance.

Madison stopped them and warned them they were coming into the part of the castle where the woman was being held. "The woman is being held down this next hall and around the corner. If we are going to meet any guards this is where it will be." she informs the others. "Why are you helping us?" Katherine asks. "I hold no love for this family. My town was raided and Lord Bracken was with them. He saw me and took a liking to me. His men grabbed me and brought me here when they came back. I was followed by a guard for months after arriving here, they made me work in the kitchen and late at night I would be taken to the room of Lord Bracken. I was used for his own pleasure. The only time I was allowed time off was when he had been rough with me the night before." The tears are streaming down her face as she relived her ordeal. Katherine moved closer to the young woman and pulled her gently into a hug. "I'm sorry, we'll get our friend and take you both out of here. And then we'll kill Bracken."

"He isn't here right now, he's been gone for two weeks. I heard he had gone to visit one of his allies in Washington Heights, a city to the north of here." Madison replied. "We'll still take you out of here with us when we leave and get you to safety before we go after him" Richard tells the woman. They move along the hall and Madison motions for the others to wait while she goes around the corner.

Madison walks along the corridor, there is a guard standing outside of a door about a third of the way along. He looks bored but perks up when he sees the petite blond as she walks towards him. Putting a bright smile onto her face as she approaches him, she says "Jackson, what are you doing up here?" as she moves to stand on the other side of the guard making him turn away from the corner. Richard stiffens as he hears Madison say the name of the guard. Jackson... Where had he heard that name before? He takes a chance and peeks around the corner and seeing Madison has distracted the guard silently pulls his hunting knife from his belt and quickly moves up behind the guard and puts his knife to the mans throat.

Madison reaches forward and slips the guards sword from it's scabbard as the others from the group hurry forward. Katherine opens the door to the room and Richard quickly pushes the guard inside. As soon as he is through the door he hears a gasp from across the room followed by "Richard! Katherine!"

Richard pushes the guard forcefully across the room as his sister races across the room to throw her arms around her brother. Richard all but collapses with the force of his younger sister crashing in to him but he couldn't care less. He pulled Alexis closer to him and held her tightly saying "I'm so glad I found you, are you OK? Did they hurt you?" "No, no, I'm OK" Alexis replies with tears streaming down her pale face, "I thought... I thought I was never going to leave here, I thought maybe everyone at the village was dead after the raid." "No, no, no no no" Richard says, "everyone at the village is fine, we were so worried about you." "Not everyone at the village is fine" Alexis replies softly, her voice quivering as she remembers the attack. "Ashley isn't fine" she cries. At a loss for words, Richard hugs his sister to him a little tighter, almost squeezing the air from her lungs as he says, "Your right, not everyone is fine." He wishes for all of his worth that he could take all of his sisters pain away, but right at this moment in time he's just so relieved to find her alive and unharmed. He won't say unscathed, because she obviously isn't. She has scars, maybe not physical scars, but very deep, emotional ones. He fears his she is going to take a long time to heal, if she ever does. And his heart breaks for her even more.

Katherine had stayed quiet throughout the whole exchange between Richard and Alexis. She wanted to hug her friend and her boyfriend but.. 'Let them have this few moments together now, I'll have my turn later' she thinks. She turns away from the pair to get a good look at the guard sitting on the floor and he looks so familiar. She's seen those same features looking back at her so many times she's lost count, lost herself in those blue eyes, and felt those arms wrapped around her as she lies naked in bed at night. "Richard..." "What?" Pointing towards the guard on the floor she says "He looks just like you. He could be your double." Richard looked at the guard for a moment before replying "I don't see it..." Katherine raised her eyebrow at him sceptically, "Really...? " She looks down at the guard, her face unreadable as she asks him, "What's your name?" The guard looked up at Richard and Katherine with a murderous look on his face as he replied "Jackson, Jackson Hunt."

Richards face paled as he made the connection in his mind. The man his mother had told him about before he left, to find his sister. A guard at the castle he now stood in. His name was Jackson. He could be his double according to Katherine, the person who knew him better than anyone. His father, this pathetic excuse for a human being before him was his father. Well, shit!

Alexis looked at her brother and then the guard lying on the floor glaring at Richard. He had the same blue eyes, build and facial features. "Katherine is right Richard, he's like an older version of you." "I think this is him Richard, I think this is your father" Katherine says softly as she lays a hand on his arm.

"What!?" Alexis exclaims, "What are you talking about?" Richard quickly gives Alexis the abbreviated version of what Martha had told him and Katherine before leaving to find his sister. Everyone in the room but Katherine, Javier and Kevin look shocked, none more so than Alexis and the man on the floor. Richard says. "I need to decide what to do with him" he says, pointing at the man who apparently sired him. "You're Martha's son?" the man asks. "Not that it matters to you but yes" Richard spits at him. "Richard, we need to get moving. Either tie him up somewhere or kill him" Javier says. Richard walks up to his father and pulls out his long hunting knife again. Everyone leaves the room but Katherine, who stays with Richard, offering him her support no matter what he decides to do.

A short time later, Richard and Katherine exit the room, closing the door behind them. "Norman, can you lock this door? We need to make sure no-one finds him for a while" Katherine says. Norman looks to Richard who just nods his head with a hard expression on his face, his lips set into a grim expression and his eyes no longer the sparkling blue everyone is so used to seeing. No-one even needs to ask what just happened in that room just now.

Norman locks the door and Kevin instructs everyone to gather around, arms linked and moves them all back to the room he and Javier share at the brothel. Once there he looks exhausted but knows he still has to get Alexis back to East Village and her mother.

"What happened at the village Alexis? Why weren't you in the basement with the others?" Richard asks. Alexis immediately blanches. She doesn't want to tell this story, she really doesn't. Telling it means remembering everything that happened, everything she feared would happen... Ashley... "I don't think I..." Katherine crosses the room and wraps Alexis in her arms "It's OK" she says, "you're safe now. No-one is going to hurt you. We won't let them." Alexis wraps her arms around her best friend and nods into her shoulder. "I know, it's just so hard to think about what happened, what could have happened..." "I know it is sweetie" Katherine replies as she strokes the back of Alexis' head, running her fingers through her long red hair. Alexis thinks it over for a moment, before nodding slowly, and then pulling herself together she begins to talking...

* * *

_6 weeks ago..._

_Alexis was just entering the village from the road to the cottage as she heard the alarm bell ring out to signal a raid on the village was underway. She knew she should turn around and run the other way but that would leave her out in the open and exposed if a raider happened to see her. No, she thought I need to get into the village and take shelter somewhere. She knew the raiders would be focused on the village square where all of the fighting was likely to be so she figured it should be safe to hide out in one of the houses around the edge of the village._

_She ducked inside one of the buildings and stayed close to the window, keeping watch out of the corner of it so she would know if anyone was coming so she knew to find a hiding place. She watched with horror as one of the guards was dragged along the street behind a horse right outside of the house she was sheltering in. Her stomach dropped as the guard rolled over and she saw his face clearly for the first time... 'Ashley!' she thought, the word screaming though her mind. _

_Without even comprehending what she was doing she was out the door and chasing after the horse pulling her boyfriend along behind it. She flew around the corner she had seen the raider go around just moments before and saw Ashley lying on the ground. Running over to him and dropping to her knees by his side, grief stricken when she saw his lifeless eyes staring up at her, she didn't even notice the man come up behind her until he put a hand over her mouth and another around her waist as he lifted her from the ground. She tried to fight as hard as she could, kicking, biting, struggling with all her might. Another man stepped in front of her and backhanded her hand across the mouth and she slumped in the arms of the man holding her, not quite unconscious. _

_That's when she hears the voice that fills her with dread, because she knows that voice, recognizes it from the time she took him to her mothers cottage. Josh. He's telling the men that are her captors that she isn't to be harmed in any way and taken back to Morningside Heights. That she is special and if any harm befalls her then the same harm will be revisited upon the men tenfold. She is thrown over the knees of a raider on his horse and the world fades out as she finally loses consciousness._

* * *

"Wait! You're saying Josh had you taken?" Richard almost shouts, breaking Alexis out of her narrative. His face had gotten redder and redder by the minute as Alexis recounted the story of how she came to be taken. "Yes" she replies. "I can't wait to get my hands on him, he has so much to pay for!" Richard exclaims. "What do you mean? What else has he done?" Alexis asks the room at large. It's Katherine who answers, quickly reciting everything that had happened on their journey to find Alexis and by the time she is finished the red head's face had gone white.

Alexis thinks for a moment before continuing. Now she's started she needs to get the rest of this off her chest...

* * *

_2 weeks ago..._

_She woke up again, for what felt like the hundredth time since she had been taken. She was in a different place again. This one was a bedroom and she could hear someone talking from another nearby room. She could only make out one voice and it's the same one that had given her chills whenever she heard it over the last four weeks."What do you mean she's to be given to you? Who the hell told you that?" the voice all but shouted. "I was told to keep her here until he showed up to take her himself!" Whoever he was talking to, or shouting at rather, must have said something because the man that had taken her suddenly went quiet and Alexis knew fear. More fear than she already felt. If this man could quieten the man that had taken her so quickly and so easily then he was definitely someone to be fearful of. The door opened and a man that she didn't know walked in. He was tall and looked menacing. The way he carried himself made Alexis think that this was a man who knew what he wanted and wouldn't think twice about just taking it. "Well, well, well" the man said, "Look at you. Aren't you just the prettiest little thing." His eyes roamed over her body as he spoke to her and she could see his eyes darken with lust. "I can see what he finds so 'interesting' about you now" he continues, "I could think of a few ways you could 'interest' me too" he says with a leer. _

_Alexis backed up, trying to put as much distance as possible between herself and the man. She had no idea what he wanted but the look on his face as he looked over her body terrified her. He advanced on her slowly, a cruel smile on his face the whole time. Once he was standing before he reached out and ripped her top off leaving her half naked in front him. Alexis' arms flew up to cover herself as the man laughed at the sight of her small pert breasts and the look of pure terror on her face as the tears began to stream down her cheeks. "Don't worry, as much as I would love to taste that sweet body of yours, I'm not going to touch you." It was then that Alexis saw the pile of fresh, clean clothes he had in his other hand. "Put these on" he said as he threw the clothes at her and then left the room laughing to himself._

_Alexis picked up the clothes and quickly took off what was left of her ruined clothes and changed into the leather clothes the man had just thrown at her. She had never felt so simultaneously terrified and relieved as she did right at that moment. She had thought for sure he was going to rape her. And now it seemed as if she was going to be turned over to him to go who knows where and for who knows what. Her whole body shook with the emotion and terror of what had just happened and for what may happen while she was with this brutal man. She lay on the bed, curled into a ball and her whole body continued to shake as she sobbed. Her sobs eventually turning to whimpers as her emotions eventually got the better of her leaving her exhausted and she passed out._

_She had been moved the next day, dragged out of her room and put onto a horse. The man from the day before, Lockwood, had led her horse until they were far enough away from Tudor City that they couldn't be seen. He had stopped the small group of riders and ordered she be tied to the horse. The only time she would be untied was when they stopped for the night. He hadn't touched her the whole trip through the great Central Park Forest or allowed anyone else to touch her either. He had caught one man trying to kiss her and touch her one night while she slept and killed the man. No-one had come near her after that for which she was thankful._

_They had arrived in Morningside Heights late at night, Lockwood having opted to continue on until they reached the city and a proper bed instead of sleeping on the hard ground for another night. Once there she had been taken to a room and thrown in and told to make herself comfortable because she was going to be there for a long, long time. She had never seen anyone the whole time she was there, not a single person, until Richard and Katherine had burst into the room to rescue her._

* * *

Katherine had tears rolling down her cheeks as she listened to Alexis' story, feeling every emotion and every bit of pain as if it were her own. She looked over to Richard and saw his face, and if that look was any indication to how he felt then this man Lockwood was going to suffer when they found him.

"We need to get you home Alexis, your mother is worried sick about you" Kevin says, "I'm sufficiently rested enough to get us there, although I may need to stay overnight in the village. Bringing so many people here all at once is very draining." "No! I'm coming with you" Alexis says. "No, Alexis, you aren't. As much as I really want to keep you with me and not let you out of my sight again, you have been through more than enough already, and I won't put you in harms way again by allowing you to come with us" Richard states with finality, "You are going home to mother. No arguments." he says with a nod to Kevin. Kevin reaches for Alexis' arm and holds it tightly and beckons to Madison for her to step close too. When the woman reaches his side Kevin utilizes his magic and his willpower and takes them all to East Village.

Lanie was just leaving her store to head over to The Old Haunt for a meal and girl talk with her friend Jenny when Kevin, Alexis and Madison arrive in the village square. She startles a little at the sight of the three people just popping out of nowhere until her brain catches up and she recognizes Kevin. Once she sees Alexis she lets out a loud squeal of delight and rushes over to hug the girl tightly.

"Alexis! Oh my god! They found you!" she practically shouts as she almost crushes the girl, tears unabashedly spilling down her cheeks. Hearing the squeals from Lanie, people start to appear out of buildings around the square to see what all the noise is about and rushing over to welcome the girl home when they see her. Jenny comes out of the inn and sees the villagers swarming around her friends and ducks back inside the building to emerge a few moments later with Martha rushing out and into the square, eager to get to her daughter.

Martha pushes her way through the crowd of people around her daughter and all but falls to her knees in her haste. Tears are pouring down her cheeks when sparkling blue eyes meet sparkling blue eyes and mother and daughter are finally reunited. Turning around Martha beckons to Kyra, "Come here darling, I want you to meet my daughter, Alexis." Alexis looks between her mother and the little girl that was approaching them before asking "How long was I gone?"


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Thank you all once again for continuing to read/review this little story. Thanks once again to Sancturia for beta-reading as always, you really are a star! Thanks also to everyone who gave me advice and encouragement on this chapter, it was getting away from me and after a talk and a think I decided I was trying to complicate it too much, so this is the watered down version, which I think turned out much better. Also, you can find me on Tumblr as wilslax70.**

* * *

Norman moved quickly through the streets towards the brothel, the information he had was very important to the people he was fast coming to think of as friends. He had been trying to find out for three days now just what was going on in the city. Large groups of soldiers had been leaving the city under cover of darkness for days and covered wagons had been seen heading towards warehouses at the docks during the day. No-one seemed to know what was in them or where they were heading, all they had managed to find out was that the soldiers were heading north. Until now.

Turning the last corner and slipping through the door into the brothel Norman made his way towards the rooms at the back where Richard, Katherine, Javier and Kevin were holed up awaiting the information he had. He knocked on the door to Richard and Katherine's room, the boys had been burned once already over the last few days and now had images burned into their retina's that they really didn't need, he waited until he got a response telling him to come in. Opening the door, he walked inside and said "Lockwood is still in the city. He's running the city while Bracken is gone and he's the one organizing all the shipments and the convoys of soldiers heading north."

"Where is he? Richard asks. "Let me go get the guys first" Katherine says, as she lays a hand on Richards arm. She leaves the room and returns a few moments later with the boys in tow. Closing the door she turns to Norman, "OK, now you can tell us what you've learned." Norman begins again, "Lockwood is still in the city directing all the shipments of cargo heading for the warehouses down by the docks, and the columns of soldiers that are leaving the city every night."

"We haven't been able to get close enough to the warehouses or the wagons delivering the goods to find out what is inside them. We have been able to find out that Lockwood lives in private accommodation somewhere near to the castle but we haven't found out where yet."

"We could watch the warehouse, see where Lockwood goes, and try and see if we can see find out what is going in there" says Javier. "You think we haven't been watching already? We've been all over it" Norman replies. "OK. So maybe we're watching the wrong people. Or using the wrong people to watch?" Katherine says. "You have something in mind?" Richard asks. "Well if using men and kids to watch isn't working... Why not use a woman?" She replies carefully.

Richard looks at her, "No! You are not going down there alone. Look how dangerous this guy is. Look what he did to Alexis! And he doesn't have orders not to hurt you! No! You're not going." "I can look after myself, you KNOW that" She answers heatedly. "I do, but I can't let anything happen to you. Do you have any idea what it would do to me if you got hurt? I almost lost you once on this journey, I'm not going to let it happen again" he replied.

* * *

While the couple were arguing it out between them and it became clear that the comments were becoming more personal the others slowly backed out of the room to give them space to resolve the issue on their own. The 3 men went through into another room away from where the couple were arguing, sensing they wouldn't be arguing for much longer. "Katherine is right in one thing. She could go where we couldn't" says Norman. "No way is Richard going to let her do it though" says Javier. "He's right" says Kevin, "But maybe, it doesn't have to be Katherine. What if we found someone else willing to do it?

"I was just thinking that maybe they know who Katherine is by now. Surely Lockwood would have been told we were coming and now that Alexis has been taken out of the castle then wouldn't he also know that we're here? Or at least that we WERE here?" Kevin suggests. "True, but who would we get to go in her place?" Javier asks. "What about one of the girls from here? They technically work for you guys right Norman? Would one of them be willing to do it?" Kevin says. Norman thinks about it for a moment before replying, "Maybe. But you would need to make it worth their while." "We can definitely make it worthwhile for whoever does it. We can even try to ensure that they are watched the entire time and come to their aid if they require it" Kevin points out. "OK, then we have some sort of plan, we just need to wait until things calm down in the back room to suggest it to Richard and Katherine" Norman says. "Knowing those two we could be waiting a while..." Javier points out.

* * *

Three girls from the brothel waltzed down the road the next morning towards the warehouse. It had been decided that instead of using one girl to gain information they would use three as it would look suspicious if only one girl were there and refused any 'customers'. It would stretch their protectors thin on the ground but it also gave them more chances to get the information they needed. It also meant that if one of the girls, or even two, were away entertaining clients that they still had eyes, and ears, on the warehouse. It also gave them more chance to find out where Lockwood was staying and what was in those wagons.

Katherine and Richard were on the rooftops, Richard watching the warehouse and Katherine on the roof across the street from him watching the girls. Javier and 2 members of the Black Spot wait in an alley down the street in case they are needed and Kevin is on standby in case he should be needed but is expecting to have a long and boring day ahead of him. There are others waiting to follow any of the girls should they need to leave the area in front of the warehouse for whatever reason.

The day progressed quickly, with the girls talking and flirting with the guards in front of the warehouse and sailors heading to and from the docks, with one girl or another leaving with a client every now and then, and wagons appearing regularly, disappearing inside the warehouse fully loaded and reappearing empty. Richard was rapidly becoming more and more frustrated with the lack of any progress, that is until Lockwood appeared sometime late in the afternoon. He didn't even so much as look at the girls opposite the warehouse on the way in. Richard gripped his bow tightly, thinking how much he would love to put an arrow through this mans chest right now, but he knew he couldn't, not yet at least. As much as he wanted to kill the man he knew they needed information he was in possession of first. But his time would definitely come.

* * *

Javier followed one of the girls away from the warehouse yet again, another guy in tow, one that worked in the warehouse this time. It was getting late into the evening and the workers shifts were ending so he knew this guy wouldn't be heading back until tomorrow. They walked down an alley towards the room they had arranged at another near-by brothel. They had taken over two rooms, only a paper thin wall separating them, Javier entered the building the back way, as he had all day, and entered the room next to the one being used by the girls.

The sounds coming from the room were punctuated by the girl asking questions and the worker answering, unable to help himself with the girl teasing and torturing him with her feminine wiles. Javier had to hand it to the guy, he wasn't sure he'd even be able to form coherent sentences if he was being teased by the woman. A hole had been drilled into the wall affording Javier a view he wasn't soon like to forget. The guy was lying on the bed, naked and in all his glory while the girl moved around in front of him and for every answer he gave she removed another part of her already scanty clothing, turning and teasing the guy with small glimpses of her body before it was hidden away again.

Javier was finding it harder and harder to focus on what the worker was saying when confronted with the sight of the now naked woman in front of him. He pulled away from the peep hole and admonished himself quietly "Focus, man, focus! Listen to the poor fool on the bed instead of watching the girl!" 'Easier said than done' he thought to himself as he was experiencing a few problems of his own after watching the tease the girl had put on. One rather large and prominent problem. He turned back to the peephole but the girl was apparently satisfied she wasn't going to get any other answers from the man on the bed and was moving to straddle him. Javier saw the look on the guys face and knew this was going to embarrassingly quick for him, and unsatisfying for the girl. Pulling away from the peep hole once more he tried to think back and focus on anything he had heard the guy say but found he couldn't remember a damn thing. "Shit!" he thought to himself. Judging from the grunts and groans coming from the room next door he knew this would be over soon. He just hoped the others were having better luck with finding out where Lockwood was staying.

* * *

Richard and Katherine watched as Lockwood exited the warehouse and the girls approached him trying to entice him to take them with him but he wasn't having it. He brushed them off rather brusquely and continued on along his way. The girls stayed where they were as there were still a few other men left in the building but Richard and Katherine both silently moved along the rooftops, shadowing Lockwood. Norman still had men around the warehouse watching the girls so they didn't worry too much about leaving them there, and if the girls could make a little extra money then good luck to them, they had earned it after being there all day.

Lockwood headed in the general direction of the castle as expected, sticking to well populated streets, never using alleys or other secluded areas. Richard had to clamber down from the roof after Lockwood had turned a corner, the road being too wide to jump across from one roof to another. The fact that Lockwood had chosen to stay on busier thoroughfares was a benefit to Richard as it meant he could blend in with the sea of humanity on the road or duck behind stalls or into alleys to avoid detection.

Katherine kept pace from the rooftops, lithely jumping from the roof of one building to another wherever an alley intersected the main street. She had seen Richard clamber down from the rooftops some time ago and watched as he ducked in and out of cover of alleys, people, stalls and crated with ease. She knew Lockwood would have little chance of seeing him as there were just too many people still on the streets at this time of day, all trying to conduct one last piece of business before the end of the working day and they headed home to their wives, families or mistresses. This section of the road was full of twists and turns, the planning of the city preventing any attackers from marching directly up a straight road to the castle itself. It also prevented Richard from being able to keep eyes on Lockwood the whole time too.

Katherine watched on as Lockwood ducked into an alley after turning a corner on the street, she knew Richard wouldn't be able to see where he had gone so she kept a close watch on where he went next. Lockwood slipped through a door into a nondescript building just around the corner from the street he had just left. She watched on as Richard came around the corner and looked around frantically searching for a sight Lockwood. Once he realized he and lost him he looked to the roofs of the buildings until he located Katherine on the corner of a rooftop overlooking an alleyway and headed back a small ways until he came to another alleyway and clambered up to the roof so he could join her.

Katherine tensed as she heard movement behind her but quickly relaxed as she heard Richards voice, "It's just me" he said quietly, "where did he go? I lost sight of him on the street after he turned the corner." "He ducked into the door down there, I think this is where he's staying but I can't be sure. We should probably keep eyes on it and see if he comes back out" she replied.

"Sounds like as good a plan as any I could come up with" agreed Richard. "I really want to just head in there and paint the walls with this guys blood for what he did to Alexis though" he added quietly. "Me too" Katherine replied, before adding "But we can't, not yet. We don't know if he's staying here, or if he's visiting anyone. We don't even know what kind of building this is, it could be a business of some kind or a garrison even. If we barge in there now we could be walking into a trap for all we know." "I know, I know, you're right of course, but my blood boils when I think what he did to Alexis. What he would have done had he not been ordered to do otherwise"

"Well we aren't in any real hurry now that Alexis is home and safe, we can take our time and keep a watch on him and the places he goes. We also need to find out what, if anything, the girls from the brothel found out today too" Katherine pointed out. "One of us should go find the others, maybe get some of Norman's 'friends' to keep watch while we talk with the others and come up with some sort of plan to see where we go from here. Richard said. "You're right" Katherine agreed, "I'll wait here while you go arrange for someone to come here and take over." "No, you should go and I'll wait" Richard said quickly. "Katherine just turned and looked at him, eyebrow raised, "Not a chance Richard, if I leave here, as soon as I'm gone you'll be straight into that building to rip Lockwood apart. And then we lose all chances of finding out what the hell is going on because I know you. You won't stop to ask questions before you kill him." Richard looked at her, and he knew she had seen straight through him. She really did know him better than anyone else, and man was it annoying sometimes. Like right now.

"I'm not leaving you here alone! We already know what this guy is capable of!" he replied his voice harsh with frustration. "And I'm not leaving you here alone with no-one to stop you going after him" Katherine answered, "We need the information he has Richard, and if I leave you here we'll never get it." she answered softly, putting her hand on his arm. "Please Richard, trust me on this, you know I'm right." Richard sighed heavily in frustration and ran his hand over his face. He knew she was right, he knew he shouldn't be left here alone. But he also didn't like leaving her alone either. She could take care of herself, he had no doubts about that at all, in fact she was probably more capable then he himself was. "Okay" he conceded at last, "You win. I'll go back to the brothel and have Norman send a couple of his guys to come watch over Lockwood. But as soon as they get here I want you to come straight back to the brothel. I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to you." "I promise" Katherine said softly, "As soon as they get here and I've got them into position to keep a watch here I'll come back and join you."

Richard gave Katherine a quick kiss and a hug before moving back along the roof, heading back towards the brothel and Norman to arrange for some of his guys to come relieve Katherine. As he left she couldn't help but think that she was glad he was gone. Not because she wanted him gone but because she knew if he had stayed he would have gotten more and more worked up knowing the man responsible for much of Alexis' discomfort in telling what had happened to her after she had been taken from the village was so close. There was no way he would have been able to sit up here alone and waited knowing he was within touching distance. And if Lockwood happened to come out of that building before anyone else arrived he could very well have ended up sprouting an arrow from his body before they had a chance to get any information from him. She worried about Richard and the effect the last 2 months or so had on him, and she longed for the day they could return to East village and put all of this behind them and carry on with the rest of their lives. She sighed and turned her attention back to watching the doorway in the alley while she waited.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Please note the change in rating to M on this story. I changed this as a precaution as this chapter deals with issues such as torture and I wanted everyone to be aware of that right away. Thank you as always to Sancturia for beta-ing this chapter and I'd also like to thank XX00MEG00XX and Honeyandvodka for providing valuable help and advice regarding layout and grammar (Yes I suck at grammar as I'm sure you all noticed already!) Please let me know what you think of the chapter/story and as always you can find me on Tumblr: Wilsalx70.**

**Remember we are now M rated!**

* * *

Richard, Katherine, Javier, and Kevin sat in Richard and Katherine's room at the brothel late that evening and set out their plans on what to do about Lockwood and get the information only he seemed to have when there was a soft knock on the door. Richard and Javier reached for their weapons while Katherine went to the door, waited until the others were ready and then opened it, moving to the side, leaving the doorway clear as she did so. There was one of the girls from the brothel waiting just outside. "I heard you talking as I walked back to my room. I may be able to help you." The girl said.

"And who are you?" Richard asked her.

"I'm Scarlett, I work here," she replied.

"And what exactly makes you think you can help?"

"The man you're talking about, Lockwood, he's the captain of the guards right?" She said.

"Yes."

"Well he's sort of a regular of ours. He doesn't come here though. We have to go to his home," Scarlett says.

"Okay, and how often does this happen?" Katherine asked.

"Whenever he has an itch he needs to scratch, but sometimes if he sees me or one of the other girls on the street he just takes us back to his room there and then," she answered, "The man's an animal. Most of the patrons here treat us with a bit of respect, but Lockwood, he likes to make it rough for us. Like he just takes what he wants and we're only a tool to be used to fix a problem."

"How do you mean?" Katherine asked.

"I mean he wants sex, yes, but it wouldn't be the first time that a girl has come back from a night with him covered in bruises and unable to work for days because of him," she replies. "This guy takes what he wants, and throws us out when he's done. He doesn't care if we are hurt or naked when he throws us out, in fact he seems to enjoy it more. Most of the time he doesn't even bother to pay us. He needs to be stopped, and if you are planning to stop him then I want to help."

"You could get hurt," Javier points out.

"It wouldn't be the first time, and if it stops him from hurting anyone else then it'll be worth it," Scarlett says quietly.

Katherine looked at Scarlett and then the men across the room from her and nodded her head whilst saying "It gives us an opportunity, it gets us in"

"Okay Scarlett, but we do this our way, and when we come in you get the hell out of there as fast as you can. We'll make sure you get well paid for your part in helping us," Richard says.

* * *

They watched Lockwood for three days, every day he did the same things, he would go to the castle in the morning, the warehouse in the afternoon, back to his home in the evening, and then to the castle late at night to direct more troops out of the city and onto the road north. Norman's men were working in shifts to watch his movement's and Scarlett along with the other girls, continued to work the warehouse every day, gaining more and more information. They were ready to make their move on Lockwood, they just needed him to take the bait with either Scarlett or one of the other girls.

Richard, Katherine, Javier and Kevin watched and waited on the roof opposite the building where Lockwood should be arriving soon if he kept to the same pattern of the last few days. Norman's men were following him and if he should deviate from his normal movements then one of his men would notify them immediately. One of Norman's men had gotten inventive the day before and went inside the building they were watching early one morning after Lockwood had left to try and find out exactly what was in there and where Lockwood slept. He had returned later that morning stating that the building seemed to be a business of some kind and the back area was primarily used for storage but he had also found signs of someone living in a room in the basement. They assumed this is where Lockwood slept, and if he was indeed sleeping in the basement room then there would be less noise once they went in to 'talk' with him later that evening once he returned.

Sure enough Lockwood arrived late that evening and as they watched, Javier stiffened as Lockwood came down the alley, Scarlett walking next to him, and glanced around the immediate area before going through the door. "That's Lockwood? This is the guy we're after?" he asked Richard icily.

"That's him, why?" Richard said.

"That's one of the guards that almost killed me when I was last in the city. He was the worst, he would come in every time he was bored and kick the crap out of me for something to do. When it comes time to end his sorry life, he's mine."

None of them had ever heard Javier talk this way before. They knew he had been a soldier and had to be tough but this... this was like someone else had taken over Javier completely and they had no idea what he was capable of. Richard looked at his friend for a few moments before nodding his head, "OK Javi, he's yours. So long as he pays for what he did to Alexis then I don't care. We need the information from him first, but after that he's all yours."

Katherine looked at both men, her lover and her friend, and wondered just how much this trip was costing them emotionally. She knew Richard was very good at hiding his emotions behind humor and that Javier was generally such an easy going guy, but now she could see the hate on both of their faces and she wondered just how far they were willing to go for revenge if anyone hurt them or anyone they loved. In Richard's case she thought she had a fairly good idea because she had seen the look of hate and fury on his face when he had caught sight of Lockwood three days ago. But Javier... she had no idea how far he would be willing to go, but she had no inclination to be there when it happened.

* * *

They waited until they were certain Lockwood would be occupied with Scarlett before moving across to the door and Javier said, "Scarlett came through, she's left the door open as planned. Pity, I wanted to practice my lock-picking skills." The door swung inwards and they moved quickly into the building and, following the directions from Norman's man, they moved swiftly toward the basement. Javier opened the door and Lockwood rolled off the bed and grabbed his sword. He was naked, as was Scarlett, but he clearly wasn't expecting so many intruders. He certainly didn't expect to be faced with one sword and two bows, but still, he looked like he didn't intend to go down without a fight. Kevin quickly sent a spell his way that had him dancing around the room and dropping his sword as his body went red as if on fire.

Scarlett swung her legs off the bed and moved to put her clothes back on, not caring that there were so many men in the room to see her naked body, she stopped caring about that long ago. All she cared about now was that Lockwood was no longer going to be a problem for any of the girls at the brothel. Once dressed she went to a small overturned packing crate that Lockwood used as a table and lifted his coin pouch and hefted it in her hand "This should take care of the girls that he's hurt in the past," she said and walked out the door.

"Thanks Scarlett, we'll see you when we're done here," Katherine called after her. The prostitute nodded and walked on out of the building without a second thought as to what was about to happen to Lockwood.

* * *

Turning to look at Lockwood as Scarlett left the building Javier asked his best friend, "What did you do to him?"

"The exact same thing I did to you the day we met. Except he isn't wearing any clothes for me to put the spell on, so it went directly on to his skin."

Javier snorted out a laugh "Ooooh, that's gotta hurt! I'm glad I was wearing clothes. Look at his skin!"

They all looked at Lockwood as he danced around the room clearly in pain, his skin was bright red in some places but clearly beginning to go black in others. Richard moved across the room and picked up the man's sword and threw it back through the door. It skidded across the ground before coming to rest against the wall at the far end of the short corridor. "OK Lockwood, we have some questions and you are going to answer them for us" he said as he walked back across the room to stand before the still dancing naked man.

"I'm not telling you a damn thing!" Lockwood managed to bark out, even as his body contorted in pain.

Richard took his bow and smacked it off the back of Lockwood's legs, just above the knees. The raider captain fell forwards with the force of the blow and hit into the floor face first, his nose hitting heavily. Kevin released the man from the spell he cast on him, knowing he was in no condition to fight or run anymore. Plus, if he left the spell on him for too long he would probably kill him. Not that Kevin really cared if the man died or not, it was just they needed the information from him first.

Katherine stood over by the door trying very hard not to laugh at the sight of Lockwood dancing around before her, butt naked. "I guess we know now why the girls we sent around to the warehouse don't like spending time with you," she said whilst smirking and looking pointedly between his legs. The men all looked down and saw what she meant, he was small, tiny even.

"I could still show you how well it works, bitch!" he gritted out through the pain.

Richard took his bow and hit right across the organ in question as hard as he could. Lockwood screamed in pain and doubled over, the pain so severe he lost the contents of his stomach. "Wrong answer asshole," Richard told him coldly. "What's in the warehouse?" Richard asked him.

"Screw you!" Lockwood ground out through the pain.

Javier stepped forward and hit in the lower back as hard as he could with his fist making him fall forward face down onto the ground. "Want to try that again?" he said. Lockwood stayed silent.

Katherine could see they weren't going to get anywhere and she could also see Richard was getting closer and closer to losing control. She couldn't allow that to happen if they wanted to get answers to the questions they still had. Thinking fast she tried to come up with a way that would terrify Lockwood into talking as fast as possible. Once she thought of a plan Katherine steeled herself, this guy had raped countless women, would have raped Alexis if it weren't for Josh's orders. She pulled the skinning knife she used when hunting from her belt and placed it between Lockwood's legs, "Answer the question or I start peeling this like a banana, it's not very big so it won't take long, but it'll hurt like a bitch. I promise you," she said. Just the very idea of what she was doing was enough to sicken her to her stomach, but she knew she had to do this, she had to get answers, she couldn't allow the situation to get out of hand or Richard would be unstoppable.

All the other men in the room flinched at the thought of it but Lockwood just stayed silent. Katherine sighed heavily, "Have it your way she said" as she slowly dug the point of the knife into him and drew a line from the tip towards his stomach.

"WEAPONS! THERE ARE WEAPONS IN THE WAREHOUSE YOU SICK BITCH!" Lockwood screamed out as the blood trickled down between his legs.

"And just what are these weapons for?" Richard asked calmly.

"A war. They are for a war!" Lockwood said.

The friends looked at each other before turning back to the man sitting on the floor, "Who are you going to war with?" Kevin asked. Lockwood stayed silent.

Katherine dug the point of her skinning knife into him a little further saying, "Answer the question like a good little boy."

Lockwood gave her a look that could curdle milk, but it lost most of the intended effect as his face contorted in pain. "Tribeca, we're going to war with Tribeca!"

"Now that wasn't so hard was it?" Katherine said.

Richard looked at his girlfriend and could see how sickened she was by what she was doing, but he could also see the determination on her face. He wondered why she was doing this. He thought about it even as he asked himself the questions and in a sudden moment of clarity he KNEW why she was doing it. She was doing this for him. She knew that he wanted nothing more than to kill Lockwood, she knew that he wouldn't even care about getting the information he had before he killed him. Turning back to Lockwood he asked "If you're attacking Tribeca then why are all the troops heading north? Where are they going?"

Lockwood looked at Katherine before answering, "They are going to Washington Heights, I don't know why, I'm just following orders." Richard looked at Katherine and she twisted the knife a little, not really causing any major damage but the pain would be immense. "I don't know why, I swear! I was only told to send them in small groups at night to Washington Heights!"

"By whom? Who gave you the order?" Richard asked.

"Josh! Josh gave the order on behalf of his father!"

"What do you mean his father? Josh said his last name was Davidson," Javier said.

"He uses Davidson when he's traveling because he doesn't want everyone to know his father is Lord Bracken!" Lockwood replied.

* * *

After Richard got over the shock of finding out that Josh was his cousin he put a hand on Katherine's arm and gently drew her out of the room beckoning Kevin to come with him. The trio headed back up the stairs into the storage room and Richard turned to Kevin, "You need to warn the King in Tribeca so he can mobilize his army and prepare the city," he said.

Kevin nodded and replied "I'll go warn them and meet you back at the brothel. I'm not sure when that will be as the King may have questions for me, but it will be as soon as I can." With that he focused his willpower and disappeared.

Richard turned to Katherine, looking at her intently "Are you OK?" he asked quietly, "I know that had to have been hard for you."

Katherine looked up at the man she loved and wrapped her arms around him, "What have I done? What have I become to have done such a thing?" she said quietly as the tears started to form in her eyes.

"You did what had to be done, and if you hadn't then we could have been there much longer and still not have as much information as we do now," Richard told her as he held her tightly against his chest, "We could have beaten him all night and I don't think he would have told us as much as he did. You saved us a lot of time, and got more information from him than we probably could. You need to remember who this man is, what he's done and what he's capable of doing. What he did to Alexis, and who knows how many other women who weren't as fortunate as Alexis was. The man is a monster Kate. Monsters need to be killed lest they keep on tormenting people." He continued.

Katherine nodded her head slowly against his chest, "I know," she said quietly, "But it doesn't mean I have to like what I did."

"I know why you did it" he said quietly. "You did it for me didn't you?" he stated, more than asked.

Katherine pulled her head back from his chest and looked straight up into his blue eyes and said, "I did. I couldn't let you lose control in there, couldn't let you kill him until we got what we needed. I'll take the side benefit of you leaving him to Javi too."

"I want to be the one to kill him," Richard said quietly, "But Javi needs this more than I do. He needs to pay that man back for what he did to him."

"I know. I'm just glad he's the one doing it and not you. I'm so scared of who we are becoming, of what this journey is doing to us. We've never worried about killing in the past, but this, this is different. This isn't killing an animal we have hunted, this is killing people. What makes us so different from them?" Katherine asked.

"We aren't them," Richard assured her, "We are nothing like them. We don't kill just because we can. We kill animals to feed ourselves and the people in our village. The men we have already killed and the ones we most likely will come to kill in the future are people who deserve it. They are monsters, they kill women and children with no remorse, they rape women when they raid a town or village, all with no thought as to why what they do is so wrong. By killing these men we are saving lives." Richard lifted Katherine's head from where it had fallen back to his chest and leaned down towards her, kissing her tenderly on the lips for a few moments before pulling back and saying, "We aren't them Kate, I promise we are nothing like them."

Katherine nodded her head before placing it onto his shoulder and hugging him tightly. She turned her thoughts to all they had learned from Lockwood and what they needed to do next. If the warehouse truly did hold weapons as he claimed then they would need to destroy them. The war needed to be delayed in order to give the King time to prepare his army and the city, but with most of Bracken's army headed north that shouldn't be too much of a problem. How to slow Bracken in the north was a much larger problem, they were still at least three to four days away from Washington heights.

Javier appeared not long after looking haggard. "It's done," was the only thing he said before walking right by them and out the door into the darkness of the alley where he promptly lost the contents of his stomach.

"Are you OK?" Katherine asked him, looking at her friend with a worried expression on her face.

"No." He replied, "But I will be. Eventually."

"You think you're going to be fit to help us get rid of those weapons tonight?" Richard asked him.

"Yeah. I just need a minute," Javier replied.

"OK, take your time. We have all night," Richard said, placing his hand on his friends shoulder.

* * *

Once Javier pulled himself together they quickly and quietly moved through the night toward the brothel. Norman would be waiting for them to get back and should be able to get them what they needed. The problem wasn't going to be getting into the warehouse, or even starting a fire. No, the problem would be getting the fire hot enough to ruin the temper of the steel the swords were made of. To do that they would need oil, lots and lots of oil.

Richard drew back the string on his bow, his arm locked in place, ready to loose the arrow. He watched as Katherine's arrow found its mark on the guard at the far end of the building and released his own and watched it fly straight and true, burying itself deep in the guards chest. He quickly fitted another arrow to his bowstring, took aim and let fly at the remaining guard who was perched on the roof of the warehouse. As it hit home the guard tumbled slowly down the roof and fell to the ground with a soft thud, dead before he even hit the ground.

Norman and six of his men ran across the empty expanse of street in front of the warehouse each rolling a small barrel of pitch from the nearby docks. The pitch was ordinarily used for making a ship waterproof, but is also extremely flammable and as such is probably the most dangerous item on any ship. They reached the warehouse just as Javier pulled the doors open and went inside to make sure that no guards were in there and came back out, pushing the doors wide. Norman and his men quickly pushed the barrels through the open doorway and placed them around the large space and went back for more barrels.

The last of the barrels were placed and three were opened and the pitch spread around the room connecting all the other barrels. They then took the final barrel and laid a trail to the door and halfway across the street. Richard came up behind them holding a lit torch saying, "Move well out of the way, the last thing I want is for you to go up in flames along with the warehouse."

The men of The Black spot scampered away, quickly blending in to the shadows and heading back to their safe houses and their nice warm beds. Richard waited until they were all gone and then threw the torch towards the trail of pitch and watched as the flames raced along the ground and into the warehouse. With a loud Whoosh! the warehouse went up in flames and the three friends and Norman ran towards the brothel.

"I pity any guards that come to investigate that fire," Norman managed to say as they ran.

"How so?" asked Katherine.

"The funny thing about pitch is that it sticks to everything. So if they get too close and one of those barrels explodes..." he replied.

"Oh my god... what did we just do?" Katherine said.

"We did what had to be done Kate," Richard said, "We stopped those weapons and maybe some of those soldiers from being used to kill our friends, our family. And we put a serious dent in Bracken's war plans."

Katherine just kept running and tried very hard not think of what could be happening at the warehouse. She threw a look back over her shoulder and could see the flames rising high into the sky, lighting up the whole night. Richard was right, those weapons were intended for use against the people of Tribeca, and if Bracken was successful in his plot to take over the kingdom then everyone was at risk, her friends, her family, Richard and even Katherine herself. It was a hard thing to stomach, but it was the right thing to do. Now they had to come up with a plan on what to do about Bracken's army.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Thank you once again to Sancturia for beta reading this story for me. She really does help to make it better by seeing where I can expand on the story or the characters. This story wouldn't be anywhere near as long or as good as it is without her input. Thank you to all of you for reading or leaving reviews, it really does mean a lot to me to know that you are enjoying reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it. Please tell me what you think of this chapter, what you like about it, or what you don't. Criticism is good, but please keep it constructive. Also you can find me on Tumblr as Wilsalx70 or Twitter as Wilsalx, feel free to follow me on either, or both! :)**

* * *

Alexis sits beside the graveside, tears streaming down her face. It's the first time she's been here since she arrived back home. She couldn't face it before now. She loved Ashley and now this was all she had left of him. They had spoken of marriage a couple of times in the months before the raid, it was always her that found a reason to put it off; it was too soon, she was too young, her studies with Lanie had to come first. She regrets it now, regrets that the real reason she kept putting it off was because of her own doubts. Not doubts of her love for him, she knew she loved him with all of her heart. No, the doubts were about Ashley's love for her; did he really love her, would he get bored of her, would he move on from the village and leave her behind because of his job.

It all seemed so stupid now, she knew the answers to all of those things. She always had known, if she was going to be truthful with herself. She missed him so much, still had nightmares every night where she would see him being dragged through the village behind the horse, or see him lying on the ground, blood coming from his mouth and his eyes wide, staring up at her but lifeless, seeing nothing. Quite often she would wake up screaming, and Kyra would come across to her, hold her and stay with her through the night.

Kyra. The little girl was fast becoming a very important part in her life. At first she hadn't known what to make of her, she had moved in with her mother and was treated as another daughter. Martha taught her everything that she had taught Alexis herself all those years ago when she was the same age as Kyra is now. She had been jealous at first of the little girl getting all of her mother's attention, but she soon realized that she wasn't stealing her mother, no, Alexis was gaining a little sister.

After she had realized that, things had quickly changed between them, Alexis took a more active role in Kyra's studies, helping wherever she could. She taught her more about the herbs she grew in the small garden at home, things that even her mother and Lanie didn't know. She showed her how to correctly choose which herbs to use for which poultices or medicines, how to apply or brew them, which herbs could be replaced with another without changing the effect of the medicine.

Kyra learned quickly, she was fast catching up with Alexis' level of training and would quite probably surpass her soon. Even Lanie was amazed at how quickly the girl learned, she just absorbed every piece of information given to her, be it magical, healing, cooking, growing. It didn't matter what the subject, the girl only had to be told or read it once and she never forgot.

The only thing that affected her negatively was when a large portion of the King's army had passed through the village, heading north and taking Captain Montgomery with them. The man had become a sort of father figure to the girl to go with Martha's mother figure. He may not live with them, but he was the man that was always there should she need anything. He had explained that Katherine lived with him and he had taught her almost everything she knew. When Alexis confirmed it to the girl her demeanor towards the captain had changed drastically and she had spent more time alone with him and his family, seeking to learn more about Katherine and anything else the man would teach her.

So when he had left with the army she had been devastated and retreated into herself for a while. It had taken everyone to get through to the girl that just because he was leaving didn't mean he wouldn't be coming back. She had spent a lot of her time playing with Midnight after that, her one true companion who had never left her. She had come to realize that Captain Montgomery hadn't really had a choice other than to go with the army but from conversations she had overheard from people around the village she knew that he most likely wouldn't be fighting. Apparently his best weapon was his mind, he planned attacks, or defenses, but generally didn't take part in them, so he should be safe. She hoped he would be home soon. Richard and Katherine, Javier and Kevin too.

* * *

Washington Heights was a dismal place, everywhere you looked there were run down buildings. The people wandering the streets or sitting on the corners had a woe-begotten look to them, their faces were pinched, cheeks and eyes were sunken and they were filthy. The rags they wore as clothes hung from shrunken frames and, no doubt, if those rags were removed then their bodies would show signs of starvation.

The city sat near to the tip of the island, between the great Hudson River and the smaller but fast flowing Harlem River, both were excellent fishing grounds. Rich and fertile farmland lay to the south and northeast of the city, with woodland to the northwest which should hold plenty of game for hunting. Yet the population was starving with many appearing to be too weak to move and some looked close to death. Something was going on in this city and whatever it was, it wasn't good.

Richard and Katherine moved carefully through the city trying to find the cause of the problem while trying to get information on the two armies they knew to be here, the army of Vulcan Simmons and the larger army, oft used as raiders by Lord Bracken. All the movement they had seen from Bracken's army had them coming here, they knew from what Lockwood told them that Bracken was paving the way for war with the city of Tribeca. What they hadn't counted on was Bracken's and Simmons' armies joining together like old friends.

As they approached the docks they saw the way was blocked by groups of soldiers so they turned onto another street and tried to find another way. After about an hour they came to the conclusion they weren't getting anywhere near the docks, every single route was blocked and guarded by soldiers loyal to either Simmons or Bracken. Whatever was down there they didn't want anyone getting anywhere near it.

They backed up a few streets and quickly clambered up on to the roof of a building and made their way back towards the docks, carefully slipping by the guards. As they got nearer to the end of the row of rooftops they gasped at what they saw. There was a huge fleet of ships moored at the docks and even more anchored out in the river, everywhere they looked they saw transport ships being loaded with supplies. They were preparing an invasion fleet, but how long did they have before it sailed? One thing was certain, they needed more information and they needed it fast. They took a long look around committing as much to memory as they possibly could, neither relying on the other to gain all of the information.

* * *

Javier and Kevin were sat in a local tavern in Washington Heights close to the castle trying to eavesdrop and get as much information as they could about what was happening in the city. The tavern was mostly filled with off duty soldiers and in stark contrast to the general populace of the city they appeared to be well fed and well outfitted. They looked lean and strong, well rested and battle hardened, could this be what all the raids were about? Getting troops out there and fighting without actually fielding an army somewhere? The soldiers were keeping to themselves, talking quietly, and any time someone came near they went completely silent.

"Getting information from any of these guys is going to be tough," Javier said, "They are well drilled in not letting their tongues flap."

"What about when they leave?" Kevin asked him, "Maybe we can get one that leaves on his own?"

"That could work," Javier replied, "Just try not to drink too much of the swill they call ale around here."

"Oh, I'm not drinking it," Kevin replied.

Javier looked at his friend and said "Then what the hell are you doing with it? That's the fourth tankard I've bought you since we got here."

"It's all over the floor. Whenever I take a sip, I spit it back into the cup and empty a little on the floor whenever no-one is looking." Javier just looks at him. "I fooled you didn't I?" said Kevin, "And you are sitting right next to me and didn't even notice."

"Yeah, yeah, OK. You win, I didn't notice," Javier says.

Kevin just looks smug and points over to one of the soldiers discreetly, "Looks like he's getting ready to leave," he says.

Javier looked across the room in the direction Kevin indicated and saw a soldier getting up and saying goodbye to his friends. "OK, looks like we just found our guy, lets get out of here," he said.

The two friends get up and leave the inn, and walk down the street a little before ducking into an alley from which they can see the entrance to the inn. A few minutes later, the soldier leaves the inn and walks down the road towards them. They let him pass them by without incident and move to follow him, keeping a safe distance behind him. They quickly realize that they are headed back toward the barracks and need to act quickly or they will lose their guy once he reaches the checkpoint.

Moving a little quicker they get up close behind the soldier they are following and wait until they spot an alleyway just ahead, Javier looks at Kevin and nods in the direction of the alley. Kevin gives a quick nod back in acknowledgment. As they get closer to the alleyway Kevin starts to mumble beneath his breath and at the last possible moment he steps up behind the soldier and lays a hand on his shoulder, releasing his spell. The soldier starts to slump to the ground, asleep, and Javier steps up and grabs him beneath the armpits to hold him up.

Kevin moves to one side of him while Javier takes the other, each draping one of the sleeping soldiers arms across their shoulders to support him and move him into the alleyway. "How long's he going to be out for?" Javier asks.

"For as long as we need him to be," Kevin says, "I can wake him whenever we want."

"Cool. Let's get him out of sight of the road, maybe see if we can find an empty building or something before we wake him," Javier replies.

* * *

They continued on through the back streets and alleys checking doors as they went, until they found an old abandoned building that would fit their needs and bragged the soldier inside. They dumped him into the middle of the empty room they found themselves standing in. "We're going to have to do this the hard way," Kevin says.

"What do you mean?" asks Javier.

"Well he's not just going to give up the information," Kevin replies, "We're probably going to have to make him tell us."

"Hmmm, yeah I see what you mean," Javier answers.

"We'll need to make sure there aren't any visible signs on his face and hands, anywhere that can't be covered," Kevin says.

"Well, it's not like he's going to be walking around naked any time soon," Javier answers, "So that leaves us plenty of options."

"True, and it's not like we can just get rid of him either," Kevin answers, "If he disappears the guys he was with earlier will ask questions."

"Yeah, he needs to be able to get back to his barracks looking as if he just had a rough night," Javier agrees. "Okay, let's get this over with, wake him up."

Kevin leans over the soldier slumped on the floor and places his hand on his head, mumbling to himself until the soldier starts to slowly come around. Kevin positions himself so the soldier can see him as soon as his eyes open.

Blinking heavily, the soldier strains to focus on Kevin's face as he wakes up. "Who're you?" he asks groggily as he quickly shifts backwards across the floor on his backside, trying to put distance between himself and the men standing over him.

"I'm the guy going to ask you questions, and you're going to answer them," Kevin replies.

"Not answering any questions," the soldier says, his eyes moving between the two men worriedly.

"Oh you will answer them," Javier says as he moves into the soldiers line of sight, "It's just up to you if we do this the easy way or the hard way."

"What d'you mean?" the soldier asks.

"He means either you tell us or we beat it out of you," Kevin answers as Javier cracks his knuckles.

The soldier looks between the two men towering over him and gulps slowly as he realizes the predicament he's in. He stays quiet for a little too long and Javier steps up and gives him a hard punch in the ribs. The soldier grunts with pain and lists to the side as Javier's fist connects with the ribs on the other side of his body. "Please," he says, "I have a wife and kids, I only joined the army so they would have food."

"Look, we really don't want to do this but unless you start talking it's only going to get worse," Kevin tells the soldier.

Javier walks around behind the soldier, "Tell us when the fleet launches," he says from behind the man, "Tell us everything you know about the invasion. When's it going to happen? When do you start loading? When do you leave?"

The soldier glances around for an escape route, thinking of running. Javier's fist connects with the small of his back, "Forget about running, you're not going anywhere until we say so," he says, "There are only 2 ways out of here, walking; after telling us what we want to know, or dead if you don't tell us everything you know – if someone finds you that is."

The soldier thinks about it for a few minutes, he's no good to his family if he's dead. He's going to war soon and there are no guarantees that he'll come home from it alive, or in one piece even. If he tells these guys what they want to know he can just disappear, get his family and run, forget about the war and the army. Just like he had already planned actually.

The only reason he joined the army was to get food for his family. His wife, and his twins, 4 years old now, would have starved along with the rest of the city if he hadn't enlisted. Simmons took all the food to feed his army and Bracken's, he didn't care that he was leaving nothing for the general population of the city. It had started small, buying the food from one or two of the local farmers and having them divert the food from the markets to his warehouses near the barracks and docks to help feed his army.

As the army grew, so too did his need for more and more food but the city had a surplus and could afford to use the extra it had to help feed the men who protected it. Eventually though, Simmons's army had grown far beyond the needs of the city, and far beyond it's capability to continue supplying it's needs. More and more food had been directed to the warehouses instead of the markets until pretty soon all of the food was going to the army and none to the citizens.

There were riots in the market squares, ordinary people trying to find food for themselves and their families, people were beginning to starve. Simmons reacted to the riots by sending in his army to quell the uprisings. The army was brutal, anyone they caught was made an example of, hundreds were killed, either hung in places where people gathered or killed and left to rot where they fell.

The only way to get food now was to either steal it or join the army. He decided to join the army, maybe he would be able to gain some food for his family. He had no love of killing, had no desire to be in a war, that just wasn't who he was. He hated violence of any kind but after finding his out his wife was giving any food she could find to their children instead of keeping some for herself he felt he had no other choice.

He told his wife his plan, and after a brief argument in which he told her he couldn't lose either his children or his wife, she decided to go along with his plan. He joined the army the very next day. The training was tough, but the food was plentiful, and he was assigned to one of the warehouses holding the food for the hours that he wasn't training. He stole what little food he managed to sneak out and took it to his family's home. He decided that for now this would suffice, he could live with being in the army for so long as he was able to provide food for his family. The second he could no longer do that, he was getting out of there, taking his family and running. He didn't care where they went, so long as they were together.

"Alright," he says, "I'll tell you. But then I need to get my family and get them out of the city, find somewhere safe to hide until this is all over. Assuming that Lord Bracken doesn't win this war, because if he does then nowhere will be safe."

"He's not going to win, don't worry about that," Kevin says, "Just tell us what you know. We'll take care of the rest."

"Ok," The soldier replies, "We are still gathering our forces, food, weapons. The fleet won't be ready for at least another month. That's only my best guess though, We aren't exactly made privy to the full plans. Most of what the soldiers know is just what we are told, which isn't much. I don't think he trusts anyone very much, maybe the leaders of the army know more but if they do then they aren't sharing. More likely they don't know the full plan either."

"How do we get into the harbor area?" Javier asks.

"You don't unless you're a soldier or you have a pass if you're bringing in weapons or food" The soldier replies.

"And how do we get one of these passes?" Kevin asks, "Who decides who the passes go to?"

"I don't know who decides that, all I know is it's someone up high in the ranking. Maybe even Lord Bracken himself for all I know," the soldier answers.

"Do these passes have the names on them of whomever is delivering? Do they have an escort once inside the cordon?" Javier says.

"No names, but an escort is normally assigned, however it's usually only one man, two at most, just to make sure they go where they are supposed to and nowhere else" the soldier says.

"OK," Kevin says, What about searching the wagons?" Kevin asks.

"Every wagon is supposed to be searched," The soldier answers, "But there are so many wagons in and out of there that searches are very rarely done. Only if the soldiers suspect something amiss really."

"OK," Javier says, "We're done here. Get your family and get out of here. But even think of going back to your barracks and you'll be dead before you can get there, I promise you."

The soldier looks between the two men before him and sees the seriousness on their faces, in their eyes, and nods, "I've got no intentions of going back there. If they find out what I just told you then I'm a dead man. I'm getting my family and leaving the city. Tonight."

Kevin looks at Javier, who nods "Take your family to the woods northwest of here, we're going to start diverting food that way and hopefully get a few more people out of here too. Can you hunt?"

"Yes, I can use a bow" the soldier replies.

"Then you'll have no problem finding food until we can get some sent out there," Kevin says, "Go on, get out of here." With that, the soldier walks carefully towards the door, his probably bruised ribs still painful from the hits he took from Javier's fists.

Javier and Kevin follow the soldier at a discrete distance, and true to his word he goes to a home on the other side of the city from the barracks and docks, emerging some time later with a woman and two young children. Satisfied that he doesn't intend to return to the barracks and tell his superiors about his questioning, they return to the small inn they are staying in, to share the information the gained from him with Richard and Katherine.

* * *

"So how do we get a pass to let us inside the cordon?" Javier asks nobody in particular, "We don't even know where the wagons are coming from."

"Well I think the first thing we need to do is find out where they are coming from. The food is probably being brought in from outside of the city," Katherine says,

"So what, we follow one of the wagons out of the city and see where it goes?" Kevin asks.

"That could work," Richard replies, "Then we wait until he's making a return trip and hijack his wagon the next time we see him heading to the city."

"That could take a while Rick," Javier says, "Is there no other way inside?"

"Not that we could see," Richard says, "even the rooftops would be difficult without being seen."

"And the sewers?" Kevin asks.

"Without knowing exactly where they come out makes it too risky," Katherine interjects.

""So basically we need to find someone driving a wagon, wait until he's coming back into the city and then steal his wagon and cargo," Javier says, trying to hide his disappointment.

"Pretty much," Richard says, "But we can plan what we intend while we wait for someone to show up."

"OK, so what do you think we could do to slow them down?" Kevin says.

"Same thing we did in Morningside Heights," replies Richard, "Except this time we hit the boats if we can. I'd rather not hit the warehouses holding food, from the looks of things around here it's going to be needed by the people of this city."

"So, we hit the boats, burning them so they can't be used to transfer all of the troops south to Tribeca, while at the same time trying to preserve the warehouses full of food for the citizens?" Katherine asks, "Isn't that going to be a little difficult?"

"It won't be easy," Richard agrees, "But it will also look less suspicious if only the boats go up, than if everything goes on fire at the same time. Someone could have gotten careless and boats are pretty easy to go on fire."

"What's the King intending to do Kevin, any idea?" Javier asks.

"His army is already heading north. He wants to keep the fight away from Tribeca if he can. If he hits them here then he has the element of surprise, they aren't prepared for fighting on their home turf. They have no defenses in place whatsoever, he could practically march his army straight in."

"We can't mess this up then," Javier states, "If we get this wrong and that fleet sails, Tribeca is defenseless with it's army already heading here."

"So we don't mess it up," says Katherine, "We do whatever it takes, including burning the warehouses if we have to so they can't move." The others nod their heads in agreement, this can't go wrong.

"Get some sleep," Richard says, "Tomorrow we need to be keeping a watch on that cordon first thing."

The following morning finds Richard, Katherine, Javier and Kevin near the cordon watching as wagons move in and out. Most appear to be weapons, with only a few containing food. When a wagon they think has been carrying food exits the cordon one of them follows it, but so far none have left the city.

A wagon is about to exit the cordon when the driver stops to talk to one of the soldiers. Richard moves closer discreetly, trying to overhear what the driver is saying.

"...be back in the city in a couple of days with more. I should be selling this to local merchants for the people but it's all going to the garrison or the warehouses. What about the people? What are they supposed to eat? And my family, how am I supposed to care for them if all the food is coming here?" he overhears the driver say to the guard.

"Are you seriously trying to tell me that none of the food in your wagon makes it onto your family's dinner table?" The soldier says, "Get out of here and don't try to be stupid again or you won't have a family to worry about feeding."

The driver moves his cart forward, shaking his head as he goes. Richard moves quickly back to his friends and they set out to follow the wagon out of the city. As they walk Katherine says, "You know, after what you just told us we may not need to steal the cart and the pass. He must just help us anyway, all we need to do is convince him."

Richard thinks it over for a moment "You could be right about that. If we tell him what we intend and can convince him to move the food intended for the warehouse elsewhere for after the battle then he may just helps us."

"Especially if we also tell him the King will likely reward him for helping us and providing food to the citizens of the city." Kevin adds.

"And will the King reward him?" Katherine asks.

"No idea," Says Kevin, "but we can certainly suggest it to him."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Apologies for the delay with this chapter, it caused me a few problems trying to dig it out of my head and into a readable form. I hope the wait was worth it; Please let me know! Thank you to everyone who continues to read/follow, and as always a huge thank you goes to Sanctuaria and also to XX00Meg00XX who have been amazing with their help as usual. Sanctuaria, for helping point out the flaws or ways to make the story better and Meg, for helping me with grammar etc, you both have helped make this story become better and me a better writer (I hope).  
**

**Please let me know what you think of the story so far, and as always you can find me on Tumblr as wilsalx70**

* * *

They followed the driver at a discreet distance all the way back to a farm on the outskirts of the city. Upon arriving at his farm the driver went to the barn, backing the horse and wagon inside, before proceeding to unhitch and groom the horse. The four friends followed him inside, and Javier and Kevin closed the doors behind them to ensure privacy while they talked.

Katherine spoke first. "We mean you no harm, we're just here to talk to you," she said as the farmer almost jumped out of his skin when the barn got suddenly darker and he realized he was no longer alone.

"What do you want?" the farmer asked cautiously as he glanced around the now dimly lit barn, trying to figure out how the hell to get away from these people.

"We overheard you talking with the guard as you left the warehouse earlier. We have a proposal for you, that is to your benefit as well as to other people within the city," Katherine said, "Please, just listen to what we have to say."

The farmer still looked suspicious but relaxed a little as he answered Katherine's plea, "OK, talk, but if I don't like what I hear then I want you to leave immediately."

"No problem. Like I said, we mean you no harm," Katherine replied. "We want you to stop delivering food to the city and divert it to the woods northwest of here instead."

The farmer looked at her like she had gone crazy, "Are you nuts? Do you know what they would do to me if I stopped delivering to them?" he asked incredulously.

"They won't have time to worry about you not delivering to them, I promise," Richard said, "They are going to be way too busy."

"OK, assuming I was to go along with what you want... Why would you want me to take all of the food into the woods anyway? There's nothing there," the farmer replied.

"There may be nothing there right now, but if all goes according to plan then there will be very soon. The people of this city are suffering and need help before they start dying by the hundreds. They need to get out of this city, and they need to get out soon," Katherine said.

The farmer looked at them carefully, assessing them, they certainly seemed capable enough to make things difficult for anyone that messed with them, but could they really do what they said? "People are dying already, how do you plan to get them out? And more importantly why? Why do you care so much about these people, you're obviously not from around here so they mean nothing to you personally?"

"You're right; we're not from around here. But we do care," Katherine said, "We live in the south, near Tribeca. Our village was attacked by Bracken's raiders and my best friend, my boyfriend's sister," she said, pointing at Richard, "was taken and we got her back. We found out that Bracken and Simmons intend to attack Tribeca and we can't allow that to happen."

Kevin entered the conversation for the first time saying, "If Bracken and Simmons win this war then Bracken will crown himself as king, and if that happens then what has happened in this city could happen everywhere in the kingdom. We can't allow that."

"And how do you plan to stop him? There are only four of you," the farmer points out.

Richard looked at the man, his gaze assessing him carefully, "Before we tell you anything else we need to know, are you going to help us or not?"

The farmer looked at the four people before him; they looked capable, very capable actually. If they were going to help the people like they said then yes he would aid them in any way he could. But he needed to know more so he could be sure he was doing the right thing not only for his family but everyone in the city too. "I want to trust you can do what you say you will, but I need to know I'm doing the right thing. Not just for me, but the people in the city too," he said finally.

Katherine looked at the man with a small smile on her face, "I'd be more worried if you just agreed right away without thinking about it or asking for more information." She looked to Kevin, Richard and Javier, each of them nodding in turn.

"OK," Kevin said after a moment or two, "We'll trust you."

"The king's army is on its way here. Bracken and Simmons don't know this. They intend to load up their soldiers and stores onto those boats in the harbor and sail them south, to attack Tribeca. The plan is to make sure those boats never leave here. The army will be stuck in Washington Heights when the king's army arrives. We intend to go into the harbor area and set those boats on fire, blocking the harbor and the river," Katherine said. We already have a soldier and his family heading to the woods to prepare things for more people arriving from the city."

Richard took over the outlining of their plans, "We need to get through the cordon of soldiers in the city, but we need a pass and a wagon to do so. That's where you come in. We'd like to use your pass, and wagon to get us past the guards. Once there we'll take care of the rest. We want to destroy the ships, maybe the weapons too if we can, but not the food stores, the people will need those once the king's army takes over the city."

"OK," the farmer said, "I'm not due back in the city for another couple of days. Between now and then I think we can come up with a way to get the people out of the city. But, we'll also need more food than I can provide. We need more help."

* * *

Over the next two days Richard, Katherine, Javier, Kevin, and Brent, the farmer went from farm to farm outlining their plans and garnering more support. They contacted only people that Brent knew he could trust to do as they planned and deliver their goods to the woods instead of to the city. At the end of the two days they estimated that around 85% of all food would be delivered to the woods to the northwest instead of the city.

* * *

The covered wagon moved through the city streets, Brent was guiding the horses through the people that were milling around, trying not to hit anyone. Richard, Katherine, Javier and Kevin were hidden in the back of the wagon inside crates that would normally carry food. The plan was to wait until darkness fell and then sneak out of the warehouse and head for the ships moored at the docks.

Hiding inside the crates would be enough to get them inside the cordon, but they would need to sneak out of them once inside the warehouse. They couldn't take the chance of someone opening the crates to investigate why they were heavier than the other crates in the wagon.

The wagon moved through the dimly lit streets in the early evening. They had waited until as late in the day as possible to put their plan into action so they wouldn't have to wait so long inside the warehouse. As they approached the cordon a guard flagged the wagon down and started speaking to Brent. Inside the back of the covered wagon the four friends tensed up, hoping that the wagon wouldn't be searched. They didn't know how much, if at all, things had changed since Lockwood's death as they had been outside of the city for the last few days garnering more support amongst the farmers for their plans.

They breathed a small sigh of relief as the wagon lurched forward again, moving through the cordon and towards the warehouses containing the food. Mentally going over the plan Richard remembered that the buildings with the food were separated from the buildings containing weapons by a good ways. The weapons being much closer to the docks than the foodstuff meant that if the fire spread to those warehouses then they wouldn't have to worry about the food being destroyed too, well, not too much anyway.

The bored looking guards at the entrance to the warehouse didn't even spare the wagon a second glance as Brent steered it further into the dimly lit building. Crates of foodstuff were crammed into the area and as Brent jumped from the front of the wagon one of the workers moved closer to him and began talking. Brent moved away from the wagon and turned him so he was facing the opposite direction, giving the others time to climb out of the back and find somewhere to hide until dark. The four friends lowered themselves to the ground and quickly and quietly moved behind a large stack of crates close to the rear wall of the warehouse and settled in to wait until darkness fell.

Waiting for darkness to fall while remaining hidden was going to be a challenge in itself, but escaping the warehouse without being seen was going to be even tougher. The plan was to slip out just before the workers finished for the night and find somewhere to hide outside. They may get lucky and find an empty building to hole up in as Brent had told them that everyone that lived in the area had been forced out of their homes. So long as the army hadn't commandeered the buildings then there should be no problems.

* * *

As darkness started to fall the friends quietly crept out of their hiding spot behind the crates near the back wall and moved through the warehouse. Richard cautiously popped his head out of the open doorway to make sure the coast was clear and signaled the others before heading out into the rapidly fading light. The alley he led the others into was steeped in shadow and, from what he could remember of the layout of the area, he was heading in the right general direction of the docks.

Richard thought about the things they needed to do, escape the warehouse, find somewhere to hide, discover the location of the pitch and oil stores, use the pitch and oil to set the ships on fire, set the weapons warehouses on fire if they were able to, escape back into the city in the confusion caused by the fires once they were discovered. The last part seemed the easiest of all the goals to achieve as everyone would be too concerned about fighting the fires to find out how they got started in the first place. Or at least that's what he hoped anyway. He spotted a building that looked to be abandoned and moved closer to check it out, listening intently at the window he heard nothing, so he chanced a glance inside and saw that it was empty.

He turned to his friends and indicated to Katherine to check the door. She crossed to the door and tried the handle, turning it quietly she discovered it was unlocked and pushed it inwards. The hinges squeaked a little as it swung open, but the noises coming from the docks would ensure the noise didn't travel. Motioning for the others to proceed inside she took one last glance around to ensure they hadn't been seen and slipped in behind her friends and closed the door as silently as possible.

After quickly checking the building was indeed empty they all settled in to wait the few hours until it was time to move.

* * *

-The docks were quiet, other than the few guards that were set to guard the area it was completely deserted. The light rain was keeping the guards to sheltered and well lit areas, no-one wanted to be out in the rain in the middle of the night. The conditions would be perfect for starting fires, if not for the rain. The air was still, not even a small breeze. The very thing that made it easier for them to move around unseen was also what was ultimately going to make their job that much more difficult.

Richard tentatively popped his head out of the shadows and stole a quick glance around the corner. Looking toward the entrance to the stores where the lamp oil and pitch would be kept he saw a lone guard sitting on an upturned crate. Looking closer, he saw that he was leaning against the wall of the building and his chin was resting on his chest. He ducked his head back around the corner and grinned as he pantomimed to his friends that there was only one guard and he was fast asleep.

The others nodded, Kevin and Javier grinning back at him while Katherine thought to herself. 'This is almost too easy, is Bracken really so arrogant to have so few guards? Or was this some kind of trap?' She shook her head, not having time to ponder it any further as the others were already moving around the corner. Richard quickly doused the lamp that was hanging from a hook just to the side of the guard while Kevin placed a spell on the guard that would ensure he wasn't waking any time soon.

Javier swung the door to the warehouse open and stepped inside. The building was pitch black, but he could make out rows upon rows of barrels, that appeared to be stacked three or four high. Some were larger than others, so he assumed the smaller ones were the lamp oil whereas the larger ones would be pitch that was used to waterproof the ships and seal between the planks. No planks on a ship ever fit so snugly that water couldn't find a way through so the shipwrights inserted hemp between the boards and used the pitch to seal it, thus rendering the ship waterproof. However, it was also highly flammable, as was the silk used for the sails. Fire on board a ship was every sailor's worst nightmare.

The pitch used to seal the boards could so easily be set alight, however because it was waterproof you couldn't just throw water on to the fire to put it out. You needed to smother the flames with sand, if you used water then the pitch would just float right on top of it. It was the same for the lamp oil, that's what made this such a good plan, they didn't really have to get anywhere near the ships. All they had to do was release enough oil and pitch into the harbor to float along the water that they could light the fire from the dockside. The oil and pitch would stick to any ship it came into contact with right at the waterline where it would do most damage. Even the smallest fire would cause a hole in the side of the ship, causing it to fill with water and eventually sink.

Javier frowned as he looked around, there weren't anywhere near the amount of barrels in here as he would have expected there to be given the amount of ships in the harbor. The place was almost empty. Katherine, Richard and Kevin joined him and took in the amount of barrels before them. "Is this all there is?" Kevin asked, I thought there would be much more than this."

"With the amount of ships out there, so did I," said Javier.

"With all of those ships out there…," began Katherine.

"…And so few barrels in here…," Richard continues.

"…Then the rest has to be on the ships already," said Katherine.

"Which means…," Richard interjected. "Bracken is almost ready to launch his attack!" Richard and Katherine said at the exact same time while looking into each other's eyes.

"It's freaky when you two do that," Javier said.

"Yeah," Kevin agreed, "Do you practice that when we aren't around?"

"Yes!" said Richard.

"No!" Katherine said at the same time.

Their two friends just looked at them, then at each other as they tried to hold onto the laughter that was trying to escape. Katherine rolled her eyes at her friends and fixed them with a menacing glare before saying, "Knock it off guys, we don't have time for this."

Javier and Kevin sobered under the intense glare and nodded. "Sorry, "said Kevin.

"Just sayin…," said Javier. When Katherine fixed him with another glare he gulped, dropped his head and said, "I'll just go…," and motioned toward the barrels before hurrying off after Kevin.

Javier and Richard picked up one of the larger barrels of pitch each while Katherine and Kevin took the smaller barrels of oil and they all moved down to the edge of the dock and opened their barrels, sitting them on the edge and removing the bung to allow them to drain into the water and letting the current of the river spread the oil and pitch mixture for them.

* * *

They worked as quickly and quietly as they could, moving the barrels from the warehouse to the water's edge. Richard soon realized that they weren't getting through the barrels nearly as quickly as they hoped and if they wanted to be finished before the city started to wake then they had to come up with another plan, and fast.

Looking around the warehouse for inspiration he saw some planks leaning against the back wall and quickly formed a plan. He moved two of the larger barrels of pitch to the doorway of the warehouse and then went to grab a couple of the planks from where they leaned against the back wall and laid them against the barrels forming a ramp of sorts.

When Javier and Kevin came back he sent Kevin and Katherine back to the docks whilst he and Javier rolled the barrels down the ramp towards them. Once the barrels arrived Kevin and Katherine would remove the bungs and roll the barrels directly into the river. If a few barrels cracked open the way down to the harbor wall then it wouldn't really matter. It would be noisier yes, but it would be faster, they just needed to watch for any adventurous or curious guards that happened to come along.

The work went much quicker and they were just finishing up when a guard popped his head around the doorway and saw Javier and Richard preparing to roll the last of the barrels down the ramp. The guard drew his sword while saying, "Ere' now, what's all this?"

Javier and Kevin looked at each other, shrugged then turned back towards the guard. "We're moving these barrels down to stock the last of the ships?" Richard ventured, although it came out as more of a question then a statement.

The guard didn't look at all convinced and was just about to let out a shout when his eyes widened suddenly and his sword fell from limp fingers. As he started to slump to the ground Katherine stepped around him and said, "I wondered what was taking so long, so I thought I'd come see what the hold-up was."

I'm glad you did," said Richard, "We were just about to send the last of them when he showed up."

"Ok, well let's get the last of these down there so we can get the hell out of here," She replied.

Richard and Javier quickly sent the last of the barrels down the ramp, then removed the boards and picked up the barrels they had been resting against. "Grab that oil lamp will you?" Richard said to Katherine before moving away after Javier. Katherine grabbed the lamp and quickly followed them.

* * *

When Richard and Javier reached the docks and looked out at the water they could see the mixture shining atop the water in the moonlight and the barrels as they floated along. Some had become caught up in cargo nets that were hanging over the side of the ships, whilst others bobbed along in the water, continuing to spread the fiery mixture. They quickly opened the last of the barrels and pushed them into the water. "OK, let's get out of here," Richard said, "I don't want to be anywhere near here when this place goes up."

"What did you ask me to bring the lamp for?" Katherine asked Richard.

"Bring it with you, we're going to need it to set the oil and pitch alight," he replied.

Katherine nodded and follows as Richard, Kevin and Javier started to quickly move back towards the heart of the city. When he judged they were close to maximum bow range from the docks Richard stopped, and bent over, placing his hands on his knees as he tried to regain his breath. "I think we're just about at the range where our arrows will just reach the harbor," he said to Katherine.

Katherine agreed, "So, we're going to use the oil in the lamp to shout fire arrows and hope it sets the oil and pitch alight then."

"Yes, it's safer than throwing a burning lamp into the mixture. Especially since we most likely have oil and pitch all over us after moving it all night," he replied.

Katherine sniffed at her clothes, and the tell-tale stink of the oil reached her nose, "You're right, our clothes stink of oil. We'll need to be careful when we light the arrows or we'll go up in flames too," she said.

"I think if we climb to the roof here we should have a clear shot all the way to the harbor," Richard said, "But we need to find rags or cloth or something to wrap around the arrows, so we can dip it into the oil from the lamp."

"No problem," said Kevin, turning to Javier he said, "Give me your knife."

Javier removed his knife from his belt and handed it to his best friend. Kevin bent over and started to cut along the hem of his robes, and then cut it into strips. "Will these do?" he asked.

"Those are perfect," Richard told him before dividing the strips equally and handing some to Katherine. They quickly wrapped the strips of cloth around their arrows and dipped them into the oil from the lamp. "Now we need a flame," said Richard.

Javier quickly lit the lamp, but left it uncovered and said, "One flame, ready for use."

Richard and Katherine moved their arrows into the flame and then notched them to their bows, drawing back and taking a steadying breath Richard said, "Ready?"

"Ready when you are," replied Katherine.

"OK, loose," said Richard as he let his arrow fly, Katherine's following quickly behind. They repeated the process three times more before they saw the tell-tale glow of fire coming from the harbor. "I thought it would be a bigger fire than that," Javier said mournfully.

Just as Richard went to reply there was a loud Whump! coming from the harbor side and flames sprang into the sky. All of the friends stood and stared as they heard more and more explosions come from the docks. Katherine turned to look at her friends as they saw a flaming barrel fly high into the sky before coming back down to earth, "I don't think we want to be around here for much longer…," she said quietly. Silently agreeing they all turned and ran, jumping from roof to roof as they escaped the area. As they ran they could hear the shouts of alarm coming from the guards running towards the fire. That was when they started to hear the screams coming from the docks. "Oh my god! No!" Katherine whispered as she stopped running and turned to look back the way they had just come, "Bracken must have had some of his men sleeping in the ships!"

Richard stopped and moved back to Katherine, "We didn't know Kate; there was no way we could have known."

"How many men did we just kill Rick? How many?" she asked softly, as tears streamed down her face.

"I don't know love. I don't know. I can't help but think though that we just saved the lives of a lot of people in Tribeca, maybe our own families. These men were soldiers, but they were also animals. Look what they have done to the people in this city, in other towns and villages throughout the kingdom. What we did was hard, but necessary in order to save countless people from suffering, torture, rape or death at the hands of these men," Richard said as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly against his body.

"We can't stay here guys, those barrels are flying everywhere and the fire is spreading," Javier said to his friends, "We need to get out of here, right now."

Katherine cast one last glance towards the docks and the flames that lit the whole harbor, trying to block out the screams as another massive explosion rocked the night. Closing her mind to it, she turned and ran as fast as she could away from the docks, knowing that she was never going to forget this, and the sounds of the soldiers screaming would plague her dreams for some time to come.

* * *

As daylight dawned over Morningside heights a small flotilla of ships could be seen heading towards the city bearing the king's standard atop the highest mast of each ship. A lone horseman was dispatched toward Washington Heights, to warn Lord Bracken the king was not in Tribeca, but in his own home city. Almost an hour after leaving the city the horseman fell from his saddle, an arrow protruding from his back. His last thought was that his Lord would never receive the warning he was dispatched with.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Thanks once to Sanctuaria and XX00Meg00XX for beta reading this chapter and being good friends. Thanks also to everyone who continues to read and support me in this, my first story.**

* * *

The friends moved through the city, the screams of dying soldiers still ringing in their ears. Katherine had tears streaming down her face, unable to console herself even though the soldiers that were burning to death were set to invade her home, kill her friends, her family and any other innocent person they found. It didn't matter that the men were worse than animals; what mattered was that she had caused their deaths in the most hideous of ways. If she had killed them in combat then she could have lived with it; but burning them alive… that she couldn't even begin to deal with. As they moved they visited the homes of the city's inhabitants, passing the word to everyone they could to get out of the city and head for the woods to the northwest where food would be waiting for them.

Katherine knocked on another door, and waited to see if anyone answered. Most people had heard the explosions coming from the docks and were already awake, but that didn't mean they would open their doors. People in this city were scared; scared of the very people who were supposed to protect them and a bang on the door this late at night was never a good thing. Katherine knocked again and ran to the doors across the street and banged on those too, figuring it was best to bang on a few doors and speak to more people at the same time to speed things along. She didn't want to stay in this city any longer; she had already spent enough time here today, and couldn't wait to leave.

Windows opened on the upper floors of the buildings where Katherine had banged on doors as well as other buildings along the street as people tried to find out what all the commotion was about. "You need to leave!", Katherine shouted, "War is coming to the city. The King's army marches even as we speak, but he has no desire for his loyal subjects to get hurt. You must leave now!"

"Where will we go?" someone shouted behind her.

Katherine towards where the voice had come from, "Pack some clothes and any food you may have, take your families to the woods to the Northwest," she replied.

"We have no food! The soldiers take it all!" another voice shouted out.

"Go to the woods! There is food there; the farmers have been taking it there instead of bringing it to the city for the last few days. Make haste, you must leave while you still can! The soldiers will not stop you; they are all at the docks fighting the fires. Tell your friends, your families, make sure your neighbors all leave, but hurry!"

As if to punctuate what Katherine had said, another series of muffled explosions rocked the night. People disappeared from windows and doors to go gather their families, clothes and what little food they had. Katherine ran to the next street over and repeated the process for what felt like the hundredth time that night knowing that Richard, Javier and Kevin were doing the same thing in other parts of the city.

What felt like days, but was actually hours, later Katherine met up with Richard and the boys on the outskirts of the city. They started to follow the sea of people moving along the road that led to the Northwest and the woods which promised safety for themselves and their families. People still streamed out of the city; women carrying babies, men with children that were too young to walk very far. They had been told to leave their possessions, but to carry what little food they had and a bag filled with clothes for each person that was leaving. However, a few had ignored the instruction and took everything they could carry.

Katherine knew there wouldn't be enough food in the woods yet to satisfy everyone but she hoped that there would be enough to give everyone at least one hot meal for now. These people were starving, but they hadn't eaten in so long that it shouldn't take much to fill their stomachs to begin with.

Brent and the other farmers they had been able to convince to aid them had been transporting food into the woods for the better part of three days now and more would come as they got it. They needed to organize hunting parties, but to do that Richard and Katherine had to assess who from the refugee's would be fit to hunt, and which had the skill necessary to do it effectively. Traps could be set close to where the people camped, but to feed this amount of people they would need bigger game, which meant hunting further out. Judging by the sheer number of people on the road Katherine only hoped there would be enough food until they had organized hunting parties.

* * *

Captain Montgomery looked toward the city in disbelief; even from this distance the whole sky was lit by flame. Judging by how high the flames were leaping into the night sky, half the city could easily be on fire. He didn't know what had happened, but he pitied anyone caught in the middle of it and was grateful it wasn't him. The advance party of the King's army he had with him was moving towards the city. They had been moving steadily northwards ever since the King's ships had been spotted. When one of his men had seen the lone horseman galloping from the city he had ordered his best archer to stop him escaping. He didn't want Bracken to know he and his men were coming for him.

His mission was simple; get to the city, infiltrate it at night and get as many people out as possible, sabotage as much of Bracken's supply stores as he possibly could. He also intended to find Katherine and the others. He wanted to know they were still alive and unhurt; he loved Katherine like a daughter and had worried ever since she had left with the others to go find Alexis. Alexis had been home for weeks now though and there was still no sign of Katherine and Richard returning home. He had guessed correctly that they had continued in their mission to hunt down Josh and Bracken and put a stop to the raids.

He motioned his men forward; the sooner they got to the city and found a place to hole up and observe what was going on the better. As they continued onward, one of the soldiers under his command moved alongside him. "What do you think happened in the city Captain?" the soldier asked.

"I'm not sure, I'm glad we weren't there when it did though," Montgomery replied.

"A fire that big; I dread to think what could have caused it. It looks like the whole of the area near the river is aflame," the soldier said.

"Some of my friends are in that city, I just hope they were nowhere near when the fire started," Montgomery said, "But if I know them half as well as I think I do, then they would probably have been in the middle of it."

Not knowing what else to say the soldier said, "I hope you're wrong and they are okay Captain. I wouldn't like to be caught up in the middle of that inferno."

"Me too, son," Montgomery replied quietly, "Me too."

* * *

Richard, Katherine, Javier and Kevin walked amongst the trees, everywhere they looked they saw families huddled together trying to find whatever shelter and warmth they could. The people looked cold, starved and defeated; as if they had given up hope and were resigned to whatever fate sent their way.

"So many people…," Richard commented quietly.

"We have to help them Rick, we have to keep these people alive, and get them back to their lives," Katherine said.

"But what can we do beyond what we already have?" he asked her quietly, "These are city folks, probably never even set foot inside the woods in their lives before."

Katherine turned to face him and grabbed his arms, her face set with determination, "Then we teach them!" she said forcefully, "We teach them to hunt, build shelters, set traps. We treat their wounds and show them they are NOT being left to starve and die, show them that someone cares about them and their children!"

"You know how long that will take Kate? We could be here for months," Richard said gently, trying to calm her down a little.

Katherine started pacing back and forth between the trees as she said, "I know Richard, but I can't just leave them! We brought them here! US! " Her face took on a haunted look and tears filled her eyes as she said, "And after all of those men on the ships… I have to do this Richard! I have to…"

Richard looked at her and knew without a doubt he had fallen in love with the right woman, "Okay love," he said, "Okay. We'll help them; for as long as it takes."

Katherine stopped her pacing and turned to look at her lover for a moment, assessing his words and saw the sincerity on his face, what she saw there was enough to convince her and she threw herself into his arms and buried her face into his chest. "Thank you," she said quietly as the sobs racked through her body.

Javier looked to Kevin; his only reaction was a slight nod of affirmation. "We're in too," he said, "Whatever and for however long it takes, we're with you all the way."

"We're going to need help though," Kevin said, "None of us are healers. We need people to help with their wounds, sores, and whatever other ailments they have. Some of the people here will be cooks and bakers, some will have worked with wood or metal, but without tools they will be no good to us."

"Okay. We need to go to the people, find those that can hunt, cook, or erect shelters. We can bring people here from towns and cities to the South, bring tools, blankets, and healers," Katherine said.

"Kevin, we'll need you to go back to East Village and talk to Lanie. She can send word to the masters at Brookdale and ask for their help, without healers these people will begin to die soon and there will be nothing we can do to stop it. We'll also need you to go to Tribeca and enlist the help of the King, tell him what we are doing and what we need. I'll leave it up to you to figure out how to get everything here, I'm sure between yourself and Master Jordan you'll come up with something," Richard said. "Javier, I'm going to put you in charge of the stores of food for now. We can't afford to have people just helping themselves, or worse, fighting over the little food we have." Both men readily agreed, and Kevin stated that he would transport himself back to East Village in the morning once he was well rested.

* * *

Captain Montgomery and his men moved warily through the city the following night. Every building they had checked had been deserted, showing signs of having been vacated in a hurry; the place was like a ghost town. Nothing moved; there were no people to be found anywhere. Homes, inns, and businesses alike all appeared to have been ransacked; the inhabitants long gone and all of their possessions left behind. Something definitely wasn't adding up in this city, and it made his mission a fruitless one. If there were no people here then he wasn't able to get them out of the city as planned.

A scream pierced the night and he motioned his men forwards toward where the sound had come from. Moving quickly, he and his men rounded a corner and what he saw made his blood boil. Before him was a group of soldiers and they had a young woman, no more than eighteen or nineteen years of age, cornered. She was battered, bruised and completely naked, trying to cover her body and fend off the soldiers with a butcher's knife at the same time.

One of the soldiers darted towards her and she lashed out blindly with the knife. It bit deep into his outstretched hand and the man jumped back howling in pain. His companions looked on in shock for a moment before one of them drew his belt knife and spat out, "You'll pay for what you did to Eric, you little bitch!" and started to advance on the woman.

Captain Montgomery signaled to his men and a flight of arrows hit the soldiers from behind, dropping them. Montgomery moved forward slowly, removing his cape as he went. He extended his arm to the woman, handing her the cape as he said, "It's okay. You're safe now, no-one is going to hurt you."

The young woman looked at him for a moment before snatching the cape from his outstretched hand. Montgomery turned his back on her and signaled his men to do the same, allowing her a small amount of privacy to cover herself. The girl dropped the knife and wrapped the cloak around her bare body and said, "You're not like them. Who are you?"

"No we're not like them," Montgomery said, "We're King's men, here to get as many people out of the city as we can before the rest of the army arrives to deal with Simmons and Bracken."

The girl let out a soft cry of relief, "Thank you!" she said, "Everyone else has already left but I was too slow in leaving."

"Where did everyone else go?" Montgomery asked, as he turned back to face the young woman.

"A young woman came around in the middle of the night two days ago telling everyone to leave the city and head for the woods Northwest of here. She said there was food there for everyone," she answered.

"This woman," Montgomery said, "What did she look like?"

"It was dark when she came around, it was a few hours before dawn, but she was young, slim, long brown hair and from what I could see she was really beautiful," She said.

Montgomery's heart leapt with relief for the woman that had just been described could only be Katherine. And if Katherine was alive then so was Richard, maybe even Javier and Kevin too. "You say they told everyone to leave and go to the woods to the Northwest?" he asked.

"Yes, that's what she said," the woman replied.

"And is there anyone else left in the city?" Montgomery inquired.

"Only the soldiers I think, I haven't seen anyone else," The woman answered.

"Well then," Montgomery said, "It looks like Katherine and her friends did my job for me. Let's get you out of here and to the woods so you can join the rest of your family and friends." He looked at the woman for a moment before saying, "And feed you a good hot meal." With that he motioned to his men to move out and head toward the woods and he hoped, toward Katherine.

* * *

Katherine moved around the area that had been set aside for cooking meals for the refugees from the city. Richard was out hunting with a group of men that he felt had the necessary skill with a bow to be able to hunt without hurting themselves or anyone else. She wanted to be with him, but she was needed here to help keep things running smoothly. The people seemed to listen to her more than the others. She didn't know if that was due to the fact that she was a woman or that they could tell that she truly did care about keeping as many people as possible alive.

Her nights were haunted with images of men burning on ships and screams that never stopped. Richard had the nightmares too, but Katherine barely got any sleep. Most nights found her lying awake, tears rolling down her cheeks as she sobbed silently. Her nightmares pushed her to help these people in every way she could. She pushed herself harder and for longer each and every day, trying to atone for what she had done to the men on those ships. She was exhausted and running on empty, but she refused to allow herself to take a break or to sleep, even for an hour.

She weaved her way through the sea of humanity and trees, stumbling on covered roots a few times as she headed toward the area set up for the healers. When she finally got there Lanie took a look at her and shook her head and said, "When did you last sleep?"

"Last night," she replied.

"Okay, let me rephrase that; when did you last get a proper sleep?" her friend asked unperturbed.

"I don't know, a few days ago maybe?" she answered.

"That's what I thought," Lanie said, "You're no use to anyone like this, go sleep for a few hours."

"Lanie…," Katherine said, "You know why I can't sleep… I can't stop the nightmares, can't stop the sound of the screams from echoing in my head. Every time I close my eyes I see those ships, burning men running around the deck, men with no faces, all blaming me for killing them." She swipes at her eyes, fighting back the tears that threaten to come just at the thought of all the men now lying at the bottom of the river, entombed in the ships she had set on fire.

"You couldn't have known those men were on the ships honey," Lanie said quietly, as she laid her hand on her friends arm.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I don't feel guilty about what I did," Katherine replied, "It doesn't stop them from haunting my dreams, accusing me."

"You need to sleep Katherine," Lanie said, "Or you're going to be lying in here as one of my patients."

"I don't know if I can Lanie…," Katherine answered.

"I can give you something to help you sleep, you'll be in so deep a sleep you won't be able to dream," Lanie offered, "Or we can get Kevin or one of the other magicians around here to put a spell on you to make you sleep."

"No spells," Katherine said.

"Then let me prepare you a draught to help you sleep," Lanie said, "The place won't fall apart if you sleep for a few hours."

Katherine thought it over, "Okay. But I sleep here, that way if I have a nightmare you can wake me from it," she said.

Lanie rushed away and came back a moment later. "Drink this," she said, "It'll knock you out cold for a few hours."

"You already had this didn't you…," Katherine accused.

"Yes! If you hadn't agreed to sleep I was going to slip it into your drink and make sure you slept," Lanie admitted.

Katherine stepped forward and hugged her friend, "Thank you for this Lanie, I don't know what I would do without you."

"Don't thank me," She said, "Thank that man of yours. It was his idea. He's really worried about you. Now drink it and go over there to that empty sleeping pallet and get some sleep before I smack you."

Katherine laughed softly at her friend, drank the sleeping draught and lay down on the pallet as instructed. Her last thought before she slipped into a deep dreamless sleep was that she needed to find a way to thank Richard.

* * *

When Katherine awoke hours later, she felt refreshed, better than she had in days. Voices slowly entered her consciousness, one of which she hadn't heard in weeks. She raised herself from the sleeping pallet and followed the sound of voices to a shelter which had been erected to house the sick and injured. Lanie was the first to notice her as she entered and said, "Well, well, look who decided to join us."

Katherine had eyes for only one person in the makeshift shelter though, "Roy," she breathed, "what are you doing here?"

Roy Montgomery rose from his position and turned towards her, his arms extended, "I might ask you the same question, This is the last place I want my daughter to be" he replied, "I already lost my wife to Bracken and his raiders, I can't lose you too."

"You aren't going to lose me Roy, I've always got at least Richard or one of the boys with me," she said softly, "Javier is over by the stores making sure no-one pilfers them and Kevin is trying to get some stupid machine working, but I'm not alone, I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

Roy looked at her, assessing her, "You've changed since you left the village," he said, "you've grown up more."

"Yeah, some of the things we've seen Roy, the stories, we've heard, the things I've done…," she answered, in a quiet voice. "I don't want to think about that for now though, so tell me how you got here," she said in an abrupt change of subject

"My team and I were on a mission to get as many people out of the city as possible before the army arrived, but someone beat me to it," he said as he raised an eyebrow in her direction.

Katherine folded herself into the arms of the man who had treated her as his own daughter for the last fifteen years as she replied, "We couldn't just leave them there, they had no food and were slowly starving. After what happened at the docks… I just… I couldn't leave them there."

"No. I don't suppose you could. Lanie told me all about what happened there. You couldn't have known Bracken had his men billeted on the ships Kate, but you need to know that what you did has made this war much shorter than it needed to be. You may have taken hundreds of lives, but you saved thousands of others," he told her gently.

"I know," she replied, "But that doesn't make it any easier to live with, Roy."

"It'll get better, the guilt, it'll never completely go away, but I can promise that it will lessen with time," he said, "What you are doing here, you have already saved thousands of people Kate, before the fighting even starts. These people, they are relying on you and your guidance to get them through this and back to their homes when this is all over."

Katherine lifted her head, looked Roy directly in the eye and said, "And when will this be over Roy? When will the King's men get here to take back the city?"

"In a few days, a week at most I would think. When I left on this mission the king's ships were just beginning to arrive in Morningside Heights to take over there," he answered.

"This will all be over soon then?" she asked, "We'll be able to go back home soon?"

"You could go home right now if you wanted Kate. All you would have to do is ask Kevin to take you home and you'd be there in the blink of an eye," he said while disengaging himself from her arms.

"No! I can't leave, not yet. These people need my help and I won't abandon them as so many others have," Katherine replied vehemently.

"That's what I thought you'd say," Roy replied, a small smile playing on his lips as he did so, "I would have expected nothing less from you."

"One thing I'd like to know," Katherine said, "How did you know we were here? In the woods I mean?"

"We infiltrated the city last night, looking to get as many people out as we could only to find every building deserted. We heard a scream and found four soldiers attempting to rape a young woman. She gave one of them a lovely cut across his hand and the others went to kill her for it, but we intervened in time, killing the four of them and saving the young woman," he took a moment to let what he said sink in before continuing. "She told us of this beautiful young woman with long brown hair that had been banging on doors, telling everyone to leave and come here. I knew right away who that beautiful young woman would turn out to be," he said with a smile.

Katherine ducked her head, to hide her blush, "It wasn't just me, Richard and the boys were doing it too. We took a different area of the city each to try and spread the word faster," she told him.

"It's you they remember," Roy said, "It's your name on everyone's lips, you that they are looking to; to save them and to lead them home safely. Not Richard, not the King, not the boys, you."

"What?" Katherine said, "Why me?"

"Because you care," Roy answered.

* * *

Kevin worked with the other magicians in the small clearing they had found deeper inside the forest. They were working to set up a connection between the clearing he now stood in and the city of Tribeca so that supplies could be passed through instead of having to be sent by wagon or by ship. The connection would be held steady by a transfer machine that was designed and built by Master Jordan, but had never before been tested. Everyone was a little apprehensive of what would happen if the machine malfunctioned.

The basic premise of the machine was that it linked to the mind of the magician in control of it, allowing him or her to dictate exactly where the machine linked to. In this case, it was Kevin's mind controlling it and he was attempting to form a link between himself and the main courtyard of the Palace in Tribeca.

It had to be formed by the magicians at this end as the people in Tribeca had never been to this clearing before. It worked in much the same way as Kevin transferring himself from one place to another, the controller had to have been to the location before in order for it to work. His fear was how the machine would affect his mind if anything went wrong whilst he was linked to it. This would be his third attempt at trying to form the link; he motioned everyone in the glade to move away and cleared his mind in preparation.

He allowed his mind to connect with the link machine and formed the picture of the location he wanted, sweat beaded on his brow as he fought to maintain his connection with the machine. This is where he had failed every other time he had tried this, keeping the connection whilst simultaneously trying to form a link to another place was taxing and probably the most difficult thing he had tried to do thus far.

The first time he had tried it, he had all but collapsed, exhausted, after just a few minutes connected to the machine. He had gone away defeated, meditated and then slept through until the next morning. After waking he had tried again, lasting longer, but with just as little success as before.

He focused all of his willpower into forming and maintaining the link, he could see the scene he wanted in his mind; the large empty square, formed by the outbuildings of the palace - stables, armory, servant's quarters, and the barracks of the elite palace guard. His eyes were closed as he concentrated on the picture when he felt a change. His opened slowly and before him, hanging in the air, was a picture of the palace square, just as he imagined it. He thought it was only a picture until he saw someone cross through the image from left to right. 'It worked,' he thought,' I finally did it!'


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Apologies for the delay in getting this chapter out, it's kind of difficult to write when you have a constant migraine for days on end. Thank you once again to Sanctuaria &amp; XX00MEG00XX for beta-ing, and also to everyone that continues to read.**

* * *

"The food is coming through regularly now," Kevin said, "one wagonload every few hours. Soon we'll have enough to feed everyone for the next few weeks."

"What about the other supplies we need – blankets, shelters, medicines?" Javier asked his friend.

"The other things are all being loaded onto wagons and sent through as quickly as they can be," Kevin told him, "but there are far more people than we anticipated and the help they need is far worse than we had hoped. Food has to be the priority." Kevin gestured around with his arms, "Look around you Javi," he said, "these people are starving to death, what they need is food and medicine. Food is arriving and the healers are working night and day to help those that need it most, but there just aren't enough of them."

Javier deflated as Kevin spoke. He moved across the clearing and sat on a fallen log and motioned Kevin to join him. "I know Kevin, it's just… I had to hang a man in front of everyone today," he said.

"What?!" Kevin said, "Why? What happened?"

"It started at the breakfast meal…"

* * *

_Earlier that morning…_

_Javier walked between the trees as he had done every morning since they had entered the forest. He enjoyed his early morning walks as it brought him some small measure of peace. Katherine hadn't been the only one of them that had been affected by the events at the docks, though it wasn't in quite the same way. He was a soldier and seeing and causing death was a part of that that he had reconciled himself to long ago. Deaths in large numbers didn't affect him to the same degree as it did Katherine or Richard, even Kevin. He knew how to look at it through dispassionate eyes, and see the larger scheme of things. This was a war, and in war, people died… lots of people. It was the manner in which they had taken these lives that had him ill at ease. This wasn't the cut, thrust, riposte and counter-thrust of combat – the kill or be killed. No, this was hundreds, maybe thousands, of men killed in an attack they had no idea was about to happen._

_Every night when he closed his eyes he heard the panicked screams of men as the flames licked up all around them. He watched in his dreams, as men with flames consuming the ships around them jumped into the water. He watched as they jumped from the certain death of fire on the ships to the imagined safety of the water; taking the chance of drowning over the certain death of being burned alive. They realized too late that they were jumping from one certain death to another as the mixture of pitch and oil floated across the surface of the water, sticking to and consuming everything it touched. This wasn't the way to fight a war, this was a massacre, and he had no idea how to come to terms with what they had done –what HE had done._

_He shook the thoughts from his mind as he approached the sprawling camp and headed along the line of people who waited for their morning meal. These people were depending on him and his friends to keep them alive now, keep them safe, and he intended to do everything in his power to do just that._

_As he neared the front of the line he heard raised voices and screams from some of the women up ahead and hurried to see what the disturbance was. When he made it to the area designated as the kitchens he found a man on his knees, held at sword point by two of Montgomery's men-at-arms and another lying on the ground. He saw a knife protruding from his chest and there was a mixture of food and blood soaking into the earth around where his body lay. A woman knelt over the man's lifeless body, her grief plainly written all over her face, two young girls were screaming nearby as they were held back by older women that were part of the throng of people that had gathered around and looked on in shocked silence._

_Javier turned to one of the men-at-arms, "What happened here?" he asked._

"_We only just arrived before you did, but we saw this man," and he gestured to the man kneeling on the ground, being held at sword point, "plunge a knife into this man's chest," he said as he motioned toward the body lying on the ground. "We haven't been able to discover what happened yet, the people here still won't talk to us, won't trust us. Maybe you'll have better luck than us."_

_Javier turned to the people standing around, "Can any of you tell me what happened? Did any of you see?" he asked the assembled people. No-one moved or spoke up and his heart sank, even after everything he had done for these people they still didn't trust him. He turned and motioned to the soldier that he had spoken with before, "Go find Katherine, if they will talk to anyone it will be her. And be quick about it."_

_The soldier hurried off on his errand, and came back a short time later Katherine right beside him. Javier heaved a sigh of relief when he saw her and hurried over in her direction, pulling her away from the assembled people and filling her in on what had happened._

_Katherine walked to the front of the people and raised her voice, "Who here will tell me what happened? Who here will tell me why I have a murdered man at my feet and a grieving wife and children that will never see their loved one again? We brought you here, provided food, and shelter, medicine and yet you don't trust us enough to tell us what happened? We are not your enemy, yes we carry weapons but have not raised them against even one of you. Our weapons are to keep you safe, to protect you, to put food on your plates, not to use against you. Please, we need to know what happened here and why so we can stop any more families being put through what this poor family must go through now. If any of you know anything, then please, come forward, tell me what you know." _

_Katherine turned from the assembled people and moved over to the kneeling woman gently pried her hands from the cold hands of her husband and drew her into her arms, offering her what little comfort she could. She motioned to the two young children to come join her and their mother. The woman holding the girls joined them and Katherine took each of the girls into her arms one after another before turning to the woman that accompanied them, "Take them back to their shelter, stay with them and I will have a healer come by with a draught to help them sleep. I'll have food brought by for them when they wake and are ready to eat. Care for them, do whatever you can while we try to get to the bottom of what happened here."_

"_Yes Lady Katherine," the woman replied._

_Katherine shook her head, "I'm no Lady, only a woman such as you who knows the grief and the pain of losing a loved one to senseless violence. Please, take care of them and I'll come by later to see them once they wake." The woman gave a slight nod of her head and gathered the distraught woman and her children and led them back into the forest, a few of the other women going with her to help in any way they could._

_Katherine walked over to Javier and the men-at-arms, "We need to find Montgomery and get his advice on what we do with him," she said nodding towards the man that still knelt on the ground between the soldiers._

_Javier nodded in agreement, "I'll go find him," he said, and with that he walked off into the woods._

_Katherine turned to the prisoner, "Care to tell us what happened and why you murdered that man?" she asked him._

"_I was serving the food as I did every morning since we came here, and he started shouting at me, saying I was stealing all of the food for myself while I gave everyone else short rations," he answered._

"_And were you? Keeping food for yourself and giving everyone else less than you should have been?" Katherine asked._

"_No! Everyone got the same amount as I did, I would never do something like that," he said._

"_Then why would he think that you were?"_

"_I don't know," the prisoner said, "All I know is that he started shouting and the next thing I know I'm being pushed to the ground with him on top of me. I pushed him off of me and saw a knife sticking in his chest. Then these two soldiers grabbed me and threw me to the ground and held me at sword point."_

_Katherine looked to both of the soldiers who shook their heads slightly, indicating that no, that isn't what happened when they arrived._

"_When we arrived both men were still on their feet," one of the soldiers said, "yes, they fell to the ground after that but then he," and he pointed towards the prisoner, "picked up the knife and threw himself at the other man, driving the knife into his chest. There were plenty of witnesses around to see what happened, we just need to get one of them to talk."_

"_Okay," Katherine said, keep him apart from everyone else and don't let him out of your sight. Hopefully someone will come forward and tell us what they saw and heard."_

_The soldiers pulled the man to his feet and force marched him between them to the area where Montgomery and his men were camped._

_Katherine looked around the kitchen area then turned to the people still standing around. "I need someone to take over the distribution of the meal and care of the kitchen, are there any among you that are willing?" she asked._

_A few people stepped forward and Katherine immediately put them to work, distributing the food that was already prepared. She sent others to try and clean up the area and sent a runner to Montgomery's camp to bring two men-at-arms to oversee the kitchen and make sure no other problems arose._

_Katherine stayed in the kitchens and helped out with the morning meal until Captain Montgomery arrived with Javier and two men-at-arms, once the two soldiers had their orders Katherine and the two men stepped away from the kitchen to discuss what they should do next._

"_We should have seen this coming," Katherine said once they were a short distance away from the people waiting for their food._

"_Maybe," Montgomery said, "but you can't be everywhere at once, overseeing every tiny detail. There are only four of you, Katherine, and with Richard overseeing the hunting parties and Kevin at the portal that only leaves you and Javier to take care of everything else."_

"_So how do we stop this from happening again?" Javier asked, "And what do we do about our prisoner?"_

"_We need someone to come forward and tell us what they saw. At the moment we don't know if it was self-defense or murder," Montgomery said. "Until that happens there is nothing we can do about him."_

"_What about making sure it doesn't happen again?" asked Katherine, " These people have been starved for too long and they are desperate enough to try anything."_

_Javier thought it over for a moment, "What if we brought in kitchen or serving staff from the palace in Tribeca?" he asked._

_Montgomery answered first, "That could work if the King was willing to part with some of his staff."_

"_We also need soldiers to stand guard too, to ensure the staff will be safe from attack, and so no-one will be tempted to try and steal food," Katherine added._

"_Okay, then we put in the request with whichever magician is maintaining the portal at the moment," Javier said. "Hopefully, the King will grant the request and we'll have what we need by later today, tomorrow at the latest."_

"_I'll send you six of my men to stand watch and provide for the safety of whoever is in the kitchen area," Montgomery said._

"_What about our prisoner?" Javier asked._

"_The law of the kingdom is clear on what happens to murderers," Montgomery answered. "If someone comes forward with information saying it wasn't self-defense then his life is forfeit."_

"_And if it was self-defense?" asked Katherine._

"_Then, as the leaders of this community, it is left to your judgment as to a fitting punishment," he said, "however, it can't be too lenient lest it makes it appear too easy to get away with taking a life."_

"_Well, we don't have to worry about that at the moment since no-one has come forward with any information," Javier said._

"_One other thing," Montgomery said, "If it IS murder then you have the option of sending the prisoner back to Tribeca for judgment or, and this is what I think you should do, you deal with it here."_

"_Deal with it here? What do you mean?" asked Katherine._

"_I mean, that if the man is guilty of murder then he should be put to death here, as an example of what happens when kingdom laws are broken," he answered. "These people have lived under a brutal regime for so long that they may have forgotten kingdom laws. So an example should be set for them, showing them what happens when kingdom laws are broken. Hold a trial in front of everyone, and then whatever punishment you decide on should be carried out in front of them too."_

"_But isn't that kind of harsh, cruel, even?" Katherine asked._

"_Maybe," Montgomery answered, "but how else are they to learn to respect kingdom laws? These people are used to seeing people dragged off in the middle of the day or night and not seeing or hearing from them again. By holding a trial in front of them you show them that those days are gone, that the law is being used and upheld."_

_Katherine nodded her head silently, she may not like the idea, but she understood what Montgomery meant. If the people were to learn to live by kingdom law then they had to see that law in action. They would also see that the days of people just disappearing at the hands of soldiers are over._

_Katherine and Javier returned to the kitchen area and saw that the man's body had been removed and the area cleaned up in their absence. They had a small meal and gathered up plates for the grieving woman and her children and set off to find their shelter. By asking a few people they passed they soon found themselves outside of a rough shelter that had been erected using fallen branches from nearby trees and bushes. It didn't look like much, only a lean-to really, with a small opening in the front which served as an entrance, but for now it was this family's home._

_Katherine poked her head inside, and the woman that had offered comfort to the two children bid her to come in. The shelter was bigger than Katherine had expected, from the outside it had appeared to be three or four shelters formed around the bole of a large tree. Now, she saw, it was in fact one large shelter that surrounded the tree._

_The grieving woman and her children were fast asleep, she saw, as Javier joined her inside the shelter. The other woman noticed as Katherine's gaze fell onto the trio as they held each other in their sleep. "One of the healers came by and gave them a draught to help them sleep," the woman told them, "a pretty young woman with dark skin and long dark hair."_

_Katherine smiled at Javier, "That sounds like a friend of ours, Lanie," she said as Javier nodded his agreement, "We live in East Village, she came there from Brookdale Healing Center some years ago to help the people affected by the raids and decided to stay. Although I think that may have more to do with this handsome devil than the village itself," she added with a smirk in Javier's direction._

"_You're from East Village?" the woman said, incredulously, "But we all thought…"_

"_That she was a lady?" Javier asked. The woman nodded to indicate that yes that was what everyone thought. "Hardly a lady," Javier answered with a cheeky grin._

_Katherine smiled ruefully, "I'm just an ordinary woman like you yourself are," she said, "I was orphaned in a raid and raised by Captain Montgomery. He taught me to defend myself using a blade and a bow, and then later, I trained to track and hunt with Richard, who I came to love very much."_

"_Then how did you come to be here?" the woman asked as she looked between the two friends._

_Katherine quickly told her of Alexis' kidnapping and how she and her friends had rescued her and then continued on to get rid of Bracken. "So you see," she said once her story was over, "we are just simple people like yourselves who have had enough of the raids, the senseless killings and rapes, and decided to do something about it."_

"_The man in charge of the soldiers…," the woman said, "his name is Montgomery isn't it?"_

"_Yes," said Katherine, "Captain Roy Montgomery, the man who raised me and treated me as his own daughter after my family was killed."_

"_He sounds like a good man," the woman responded._

_Katherine smiled, "He is, he made me the woman you see before you now, him and Richard." Javier coughed at that and Katherine grinned, "Okay, so maybe Javi here helped a little."_

_The woman laughed softly as Katherine continued, you need not fear Captain Montgomery or any of his men, nor my friends, none of them will hurt you or any of the other people here. So long as no kingdom laws are broken – like killing a man waiting for his morning meal," she said, as she indicated the sleeping woman and her children._

_The woman was quiet for a time then softly asked, "What will become of him? The man who killed her husband?"_

_Katherine fixed her gaze onto the woman's face, "What is your name?" she asked._

"_Sara," the woman replied._

"_Well Sara, no-one will tell us what happened before Javier and the soldiers arrived, so at the moment, nothing will happen to him. We can't make a decision if we don't know what happened."_

_The woman nodded her head, "That's what I thought," she said._

"_But," Katherine said, "if someone were to come forward and tell us exactly what occurred then we would have a trial according to kingdom law and serve justice using the laws set by the King in Tribeca."_

_The woman nodded her head thoughtfully as she digested all of the information she had just been given. Katherine moved to the entrance and Javier quickly slipped out, "Tell them I came by and will come by to visit them again tomorrow," she said._

_Sara nodded her head absently, "Of course," she said, "I'll be sure to tell them."_

_Katherine turned at the entrance and looked directly into Sara's eyes, "And Sara, don't you think they deserve to have justice for having a loved one ripped away from them?" With that she ducked out of the shelter and rejoined Javier._

"_What do you think?" Javier asked as they walked back to the main part of the camp._

"_I think she knows exactly what happened but is too afraid of us to tell us," Katherine answered. "I just hope everything we said in there shows her that she can trust us and that she'll come tell us what she saw." Javier nodded his head in agreement, and they continued to walk on in silence, both lost in their thoughts._

_When it came to the noontime meal, Javier was standing guard with six of Montgomery's men, making sure there were no other problems that day when Sara came up to him, three other women and a man standing behind her nervously. "Is everything ok Sara?" Javier asked her quietly._

"_I - We need to speak to you and Katherine," she said quietly._

"_Okay," Javier said, "Is it about what happened this morning?" _

_Sara nodded her head, as she looked around nervously._

"_Follow me," Javier said, "Your friends too. I'll take you to Katherine, and you can tell us what you know." With that he walked off into the trees behind the kitchen area, while Sara and the others followed along behind. _

_They found Katherine sitting with Montgomery and she looked up as they approached. "Is everything alright?" she asked._

_Javier nodded his head as he said, "Sara and these others wanted to talk to you about what happened this morning."_

"_You saw what happened at the morning meal?" she asked and Sara and the others all nodded their heads. "Can you tell us what you saw?" she asked gently, indicating herself, Javier and Montgomery._

"_Yes," replied Sara._

"_Good, then take a seat and tell me everything you remember," she said to Sara. "Your friends can talk to either Javier or to Captain Montgomery one at a time. No-one will hurt you I promise," she told the man and women who stood nervously behind Sara._

_Sara turned and nodded to the others, indicating that it was okay to trust them before following Katherine a short way off and telling her everything she remembered from that morning._

_After they had spoken to everyone Katherine, Roy and Javier all gathered to compare notes. They found that the man who had been killed had seen the man stealing food and trying to sell it to people in the camp while at the same time giving people short rations to make sure they were still hungry. He had confronted him about it and they had gotten into an argument. When the man they had prisoner had threatened the dead man's family if he said anything the man had threatened to go straight to the nearest soldier and tell him what was going on. The prisoner had snapped and attacked the man, and had eventually thrust the knife into his chest thus killing him in front of everyone._

_With all five people telling the exact same story it was decided the prisoner would be tried for murder. Katherine spoke to Sara and the other refugees about standing in front of the gathered community that would witness the trial and telling them in front of everyone exactly what had happened. It had taken some time and some fast talking but she had eventually managed to convince them that herself, her friends, and more importantly Montgomery and his men, were here to help them and wouldn't harm any of them in any way. She had promised them that so long as no kingdom laws were broken the people were free to do whatever they would normally do with their lives, and eventually they had all agreed. Sara had agreed first and once the others had seen her do it they soon followed suit. _

_They gathered all able-bodied people from the refugees and held a trial in front of them, showing them how kingdom justice was upheld no matter where you were, or who you were. The man broke down and admitted his guilt as the facts were placed before him and Sara and the other witnesses that had come forward all gave testimony in front of the gathered crowd of people. _

_Once the man had admitted his guilt, Katherine, Montgomery and Javier all sat in judgment and sentenced the man to death, with Katherine passing the final verdict, effectively signing the man's death warrant. This was one death she had no problem reconciling herself to, this man deserved everything he got. He had callously withheld food from people that were starving to death and then tried to sell it back to them for his own gain, and then when confronted about it he had murdered a man._

_Captain Montgomery offered to have his men take the man and hang him but Javier said, "No, I'll do it. These people were in my care, the kitchen was my area to look after and this man was one of the people I appointed. It's my mistake, I'll do this myself." Montgomery nodded his head, patted Javier on the shoulder and moved past him as Javier dragged the prisoner over to a nearby tree where a soldier was preparing a noose._

_Javier stood the prisoner on a crate and placed the noose around his neck. Turning to face the crowd of people that were still gathered he said, "The King's justice decree's that any man that willing takes the life of another should in turn forfeit their own life. This man has been tried and convicted as you all stood witness, there can be no doubt of his guilt. For too long, this area of the kingdom has known only the law of brutality, it is time for that to end. Bear witness now, for the King's law returns to the north of the kingdom." With that he turned and quickly kicked the crate out from under the prisoner's feet. The man dropped and all the assembled people heard his neck snap as the rope jerked taught._

_As the man's body hung limp from the tree the people slowly drifted off in silence to go back about their lives, and talk among themselves about what they had just witnessed._

* * *

Kevin sat in stunned silence as Javier finished recounting what had happened earlier that day. "It had to be done," he said eventually.

"I know," Javier replied, "I hated having to do it, but he was tried and convicted, even admitted it, but I still hated it."

Kevin looked at his friend, "I think you could do with a drink," he said.

"We're stuck in the middle of these woods, waiting for war to break out at any time, where are we going to get a drink from?" Javier said to his friend, with a stunned look on his face, "It's not as if we can just leave and go find a tavern or inn."

Kevin looked at his friend incredulously, "You forget that I'm a magician already?" he said.

"Well no, but…"

"No need to look so worried Javi, we aren't going anywhere. Jenny sent a few bottles for occasions such as this," Kevin said as he stood and headed over to a crate and pried it open, pulling two bottles of ale from it and handing one to his friend.

"The one thing that has managed to carry me through everything that's happened over the last few months, and especially the last few weeks is my friends," Javier said. "I doubt I could have done any of this without you."

Kevin lifted his bottle and touched it to Javier's, "To friends," he said.

"Friends," repeated Javier.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Sorry this update took so long, I had problems digging the story out of my head and getting onto the document in a format I was happy with. Hopefully you'll like the way it turned out as much as I do. Thank you to everyone who continues to read/follow this story and also to Sanctuaria and XX00MEG00XX for being the amazing beta's they are. I don't think I would have gotten this far without their help and encouragement.**

* * *

Montgomery, Katherine and Richard sat together eating their morning meal as had come to be their custom ever since the captain and his men had arrived in the camp. Katherine sat deep in thought as the two men spoke about the logistics of the camp and how they could improve things for the people that temporarily called the woods their home.

"Kate!" Richard said as he touched her arm drawing her from her thoughts.

"Hmm? What?" Katherine asked, startled from her thoughts, "Sorry, I was miles away."

"We noticed," Montgomery said with a small smile, "Where did you go?"

"I was just thinking," she replied.

"About what?" Richard said, prodding for more information.

"About my mom and dad… about sticking an arrow between Bracken's eyes, making him pay for everything he's done," she answered quietly.

"You're thinking of joining the attack so you can kill him yourself…" Montgomery said.

"Yes! No! I don't know!" Katherine said, "I don't even know if I can just leave all of these people to fend for themselves so I can have my own revenge. I don't know if I can be that selfish."

"Things have settled down here over the last few days Kate, if you wanted to leave and join the fight against Bracken then no-one would blame you," Montgomery said.

"He's right Kate," Richard said, "and if this is what you want to do then you know I'll support you."

"And it's not as if the people here would be left undefended," Montgomery added, "my men would still be here, and the portal is still open too. If more defenders are needed then we can have them here pretty quickly."

"I know that, I do. It's just…"

"You feel responsible for them," Richard said.

"Yes! We brought them here Rick, we told them they would be safe here. And if we leave them…"

"If we leave them you think we would be abandoning them, going back on our promise to help them and keep them safe," Richard said.

"Something like that, yes," Katherine replied.

"We would be leaving them in a much better way than when we found them though Kate," Richard said, "They have more than enough food now, healers to treat their illnesses and Roy's men to protect them."

"I know, I know," Katherine said with a hint of defeat in her voice, "I just don't know what I want right now. I really want to make Bracken pay for all that he's done, but I really want to help these people too."

"Well you still have time to decide Kate," Montgomery told her, "By my best guess, it'll be at least another couple of days before the King's army arrives. It'll take time to unload all of the men and equipment from the ships, consolidate his hold on the city, organize the army and then about a week to march here on foot."

"How long until they get here do you think?" asked Richard.

"I would guess another two days, maybe three until they can be seen on the horizon, and another day after that until they reach the city itself."

"Why so long from when they can be seen until they are outside of the city?" Katherine asked.

"Because that many men marching at once kicks up a massive dust cloud that can be seen for miles around," answered Montgomery.

"So I have time to try to figure out what I want then…" Katherine said.

"We have time," Richard corrected her, "Because no matter what you decide, you aren't doing it without me."

* * *

The lookout stood watch in the highest tower of the castle two days later. His partner lay on the cold stone floor, fast asleep. To ensure they maintained a vigilant watch one of them stayed awake whilst the other slept. It was a boring task standing watch duty and they had both been caught sleeping on the job in the past by their superior, so they had decided that one would always be awake while the other slept. Nothing ever happened this far north in the kingdom anyway.

He walked around the tower and looked out to the east where the woods were and beyond that to where the Harlem River lazily made its way northwest. He continued on around until he faced north, following the line of the river with his eyes as he moved until he could see where the Harlem and Great Hudson Rivers joined. He stopped when he turned to face west and looked upon the harbor on the Hudson, or at least, what was left of it. Everywhere he looked lay destruction and smoke from where the fire of a few days ago had ripped through the ships, the warehouses and the small storefronts that had been scattered all around the docks. Now there was nothing but ruins; husks of once great ships scattered the river, empty shells of once huge warehouses and storefronts alike, were all just smoldering piles of rubble and ruin. He felt a cold shiver run through his body as his thoughts turned to all of the souls lost on those ships, glad that he had been on duty that night or he would have been one of those lost souls himself. He gave himself a shake, and tore his eyes from the docks and the watery graves of so many of his friends and turned his gaze to the south.

He looked out over the deserted city, like everyone else that still remained he wondered where the citizens had gone; all disappeared the night of the fire. He scanned the land from the city to the horizon, from east to west and then back again. He was about to turn away to the east once more when something caught his eye on the horizon. He took a longer, harder look, there was definitely something there, but he just couldn't decide what it was.

He turned to his companion to get him to take a look too, "Jack," he said. "Jack!" he called again when he didn't get a reply. Still not getting an answer he crossed to where Jack lay and gave him a hard kick in the side, "Jack! Wake up!" he shouted.

Jack bolted upright from where he lay, now wide awake, "What the hell was that for Bert?" he cried out in indignation.

"You should have woken up the first time I called you then… or the second!" Bert said.

"Well I'm awake now, what do you want?" Jack asked.

"Get over here and look at this, there's something on the horizon but I can't tell what it is," he said.

"It's probably just a flock of birds or something," Jack grumbled, but got up to look anyway.

"I don't think it's birds, they would be moving from one side of the horizon to the other, but this is staying in the one place," Bert replied.

Jack looked out to where Bert indicated with his arm, "Relax," he said, "It's just a cloud of dust."

"Pretty big cloud of dust then," Bert said, "What could possibly create a dust cloud that big?"

"Probably more of Lord Bracken's men coming in," Jack suggested, "A cloud that big, must be thousands of them this time."

Bert spun to look at him, "All of Bracken's men were on those ships you idiot, they can't possibly be his men."

Jack's head spun so quickly Bert thought his neck was sure to break, "If those aren't Bracken's men then…"

"Shit!" Bert exclaimed as he launched himself toward the ladder that led to the lower levels of the tower.

"Where are you going?" Jack asked him.

"You idiot! Those aren't Bracken's men, and I know we don't have any patrols out because most of our men were killed in the fire. That has to be the King's army! We have to warn Lords Bracken and Simmons," he shouted as he disappeared down the ladder.

Jack turned back to look at the approaching dust cloud, "Shit!" he said quietly.

* * *

Josh stood at the window of the small ante-room of the office given over to Lord Bracken and watched the dust cloud that marked the steady approach of the King's army, and tried to gauge how long it would be before it arrived. He wondered how things had gone so horribly wrong so quickly. In just a few short days the army that had been amassed under Bracken's banner had been decimated along with all of the ships, most of the stores of arms – and what was left was almost useless, the steel swords having been warped by the intense heat of the fire – all of the food stores and a massive portion of the city docks. The citizens that called the city home had all disappeared and now a hostile army approached. "Could things get any worse?" Josh said to himself quietly.

When the summons to join Bracken in the office had come he had hurried directly there, and arrived just in time to see the office doors close on the Lords Bracken and Simmons along with all of the commanding officers of what remained of the army. He had been about to enter and join them when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and heard a voice behind him, "Not you Josh," Lord Bracken's secretary said, "he wants to speak with you privately once this meeting is over."

Josh looked at the man, he was rake thin, which always made Josh wonder if there was perhaps something wrong with the man as he ate constantly and yet never seemed to gain any weight. Shrugging the thought off Josh enquired, "Do you know why he wants to see me privately?"

"He didn't say, he only left instructions that you were to wait out here until such time as his meeting with the officers was over," he replied.

Josh huffed softly and turned away, choosing to stare out of the window and think on the problem he had been set by Bracken after the fire had ripped through the docks, rather than listen to the secretary any longer. Where had all of the citizens of the city disappeared to and why had they chosen that particular night of all times to leave? Had the citizens themselves set fire to the ships or had they had some outside help?

They must have had help he concluded; there was no way the people of the city had done this alone. There had only been older men, women and some children left in the city as all of the men of fighting age had been conscripted into the army long ago. Either someone in the army had to have helped them or someone else, probably the king, had agents in the city trying to keep Bracken's army from leaving.

Or, he thought in a moment of sudden clarity, that bitch Katherine along with Richard and their friends had made it here and taken it upon themselves to stop Bracken and help the people. They were certainly capable enough of getting here and Katherine and Richard were both well versed in moving around without being seen.

The more he thought about it the more he was convinced they were responsible. But where would they take all of the people from the city? They couldn't have gone far, the people were starving, weak, and most of them wouldn't be capable of a longer journey. The thought hit him suddenly, the farmers had stopped delivering food to the city around the time of the fire too, and it was being delivered to wherever the city folk were holed up. So, they had food too, but where could they have gone; someplace nearby obviously.

He scanned the horizon from one side to the other and stopped when his gaze landed on the woods. He smiled to himself, it was the perfect place; big enough to conceal a few thousand people, close enough for them to get to without any problems, and exactly the type of place where Richard and Katherine felt most at home. "Yes," he said to himself quietly, "that's exactly where you would have gone."

The door to the inner office opened and Lord Simmons walked out, the officers hurried out behind him, off to oversee whatever tasks they had been assigned, no doubt. Josh crossed the room and entered the office.

Lord Bracken looked up as he entered, "Close the door Josh," he said, "We need to talk. I have a special assignment for you."

Josh closed the door, turned and replied, "I think I may have found where the citizens of the city disappeared to father, and if I'm right, then quite possibly the people responsible for starting the fire at the docks too."

"Good, then that falls in perfectly for what I have in mind for you," Bracken said.

* * *

One of Montgomery's men ran into the camp and went straight up to his commanding officer, "They're here sir! They're here!" he said excitedly.

Montgomery fixed the soldier with a glare, "Calm yourself soldier and deliver a proper report!"

The soldier immediately sprang to attention and calmed his demeanor at the mild rebuke, "Yes sir, sorry sir."

"Now, who is here?" Montgomery asked with a small smile to further put the soldier at ease.

"I was on watch at the edge of the woods sir, and saw a huge cloud of dust on the horizon. The King's army has finally arrived sir," he said.

"You're certain it's the King's army and not troops moving out of the city?" Montgomery asked.

"It's definitely not troops leaving the city sir, the dust cloud is too far away and appears to be moving in this direction. I stayed for a while to see which way it was moving before coming to report," the soldier clarified.

Montgomery turned to one of the soldiers resting by a small campfire, "Go find Richard and Katherine for me please lad, have them come meet me here. We have much to discuss." The soldier scurried off on his errand and Montgomery turned back to the other soldier, "Is there anyone still keeping watch out at the edge of the woods?"

"Yes sir, we always work in pairs," the soldier replied.

"Then go find someone to take your place out there and then rest until Richard and Katherine get here, they need to hear what you have to report as much as I do, " Montgomery said kindly, dismissing the soldier for now.

Once Richard and Katherine had arrived, with Javier and Kevin following along behind, and they had listened once again to what the soldier had to report, Javier asked, "How long until they arrive at the city do you think?"

Montgomery looked to the soldier, who replied after thinking about it for a moment, "They could most likely be here by tomorrow morning if they marched through the night, sir."

Montgomery pondered over that for a moment, "I judge them unlikely to march through the night, the army would need a good night's rest before attacking the city. A soldier is no good to anyone if he's tired after a long march."

Katherine asked Montgomery, "What do you think will happen next? Do you think Bracken knows they are here yet?"

"Without a doubt, Bracken knows. Unless his men watching from the top of that tower are blind or stupid, he knew even before we did," Montgomery replied. "My best guess is that he will be either talking to his commanders to form some sort of plan for the defense of the city, or he has already done that and preparations are already underway."

"And what of the King's army do you think?" asked Richard.

Montgomery rubbed at his chin absent-mindedly, "If I were the one commanding, I would camp tonight and all day tomorrow, to allow the men to rest up fully before marching through the following night and hitting them before dawn broke on the next day. At that time they should be half asleep and getting anxious, wondering when the attack is going to come. The element of surprise is pretty much gone already, but not totally. They already know the army is here, but they shouldn't be expecting an attack to come in the middle of the night."

"Have you given any more thought yet as to what you are going to do once the attack begins?" Montgomery asked Katherine.

"I have, but I don't think I'll really know until the time comes," she replied.

* * *

Darkness had just started to close in around the King's army when a small squad of soldiers led by Captain Victor Gates detached from the main body and moved under cover of darkness toward the woods where he knew his old friend and comrade Roy Montgomery was camped. His mission was simple; get to Montgomery, join up with his squad and get as many civilians through to the other side of the woods and onto the (hopefully) waiting ships as quickly as possible.

The King wanted to take no chances when it came to the well-being of his subjects and so had arranged to have ships sail up the East River and from there onto the Harlem River, anchoring as close as possible to shore in order to get as many of his people as possible to temporary safety. The ships would load up and then sail back downriver and anchor in the East River until after the battle was over and Lords Bracken and Simmons had been deposed. It wasn't ideal by any means, but the King was adamant that none of his subjects be used as pawns in the coming fight and they were entirely too close to the city. In fact, it was a miracle that they hadn't been discovered already, Gates thought.

Once the fighting was over the people could be brought back to the city and order could be restored. The city itself and the lives of its inhabitants would take some time to return to normal, but there was already a plan in place to aid with that. Once the fighting was over the army would remain to help with the rebuilding work, Master Jordan would open several portals at various locations around the city to supply extra food, blankets, medicines and building supplies. Healers from Brookdale Healing Center were willing to lend whatever aid they could to the good people of Washington Heights and also to treat the soldiers injured in battle. It was as good a plan as any, Gates knew, but he also knew that plans often had to be changed at a moment's notice once battle was joined. Or in this case, once the true extent of the help required was known.

He continued to lead his men through the night, and hoped that he would find his old friend well once he arrived at the camp in the woods.

* * *

Josh led his men out of the rear of the castle and headed north-east towards the woods. A hundred men, that was all his father had given him to find and punish the people of the city, and Richard and Katherine too he hoped.

He had deliberately waited until nightfall to leave the city; he didn't want anyone watching from the woods to know they were coming. His men had been ordered to muffle their weapons and to wear only leather armor – the last thing he wanted was to reach the woods undetected only to be given away by the sound of metal armor grinding against weapons, or rubbing against branches of trees. Josh estimated that they would reach the edge of the woods sometime before dawn as they would be stopping frequently to send out scouts to scan the terrain ahead for anyone posted further out.

He stopped his men once they had been marching for around an hour, gathered them around him and spoke quietly, "From here on out, we communicate with hand signals only, as we march I want you to spread out, no more than two arms lengths apart at most, keep the man beside you in sight at all times. No lights, no talking and keep your eyes open for anything out of the ordinary." He pointed to two men, "You are the first pair of scouts. We'll give you an hour's head start and then we'll follow on. If you see anything I want one of you to stay and keep watch whilst the other returns to report back with what you've found. Now get going."

The scouts moved out and the remainder of the squad sat in small groups, some even electing to try and grab what little sleep they could as they waited. Josh sat alone with his thoughts, "I'm coming for you Richard, you and that bitch Katherine, and this time I'll make sure you don't live to see your family or your homes ever again."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Thank to you everyone that is still reading this little story and to everyone that has favorited/followed. Thanks once again to XX00MEG00XX and Sanctuaria for beta-reading and pointing out any mistakes I've made along the way. Tell me your thoughts on what you like/don't like about the chapter. I'm not doing this for reviews but it's always nice to hear what you think. **

**Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Josh and his men moved through the woods, so far they had found nothing to indicate that people were hiding here, nothing out of the ordinary at all in fact. It was so quiet and peaceful that he was beginning to wonder if he had been wrong in his supposition that this was where the people from the city had fled to.

One of his men motioned for everyone to stop and pointed off to the right of their position, and then he and another soldier stealthily moved through the trees in the indicated direction. The remainder of the group waited, and after what felt like hours, but was in reality only a few short minutes, the two soldiers returned half carrying, half dragging an older man between them.

"Found him checking snares, he wasn't being exactly quiet about it neither," the first soldier said.

"Fell flat on his ass when he saw us standing in front of him, he never even saw us coming," the other soldier chuckled as they dropped him to the ground.

"Did you knock him out?" asked Josh.

"Didn't need to, when he fell on his ass he scrambled to get away and ran straight into a tree and knocked himself out," the first soldier replied with a grin.

"Well if he's here then there are others around too. Let's find somewhere to have a quiet chat with him shall we…" said Josh.

The two soldiers grabbed at the man's arms and lifted him again, and the squad of soldiers and Josh with their prisoner moved back the way they had come. Josh surmised that if they hadn't come across anyone up until this point then they would be safe moving back and interrogating the prisoner away from the area he had been found in.

* * *

Richard was getting worried, not all of the men he had sent out to check the traps and snares they had set the day before had returned. One of the men had been sent out to check the snares furthest away from the camp and even though it was getting late in the day he still hadn't come back.

"I think we need to organize a search party to go look for him, he should have been back well before now," he said to Katherine.

"How long has he been gone?" she asked.

"He left at first light along with the rest of the hunters. He was going to check the furthest away traps and snares but he should have been back by now. Everyone else is back already," he replied.

"Well what do you think we should do? We could organize a search party in case something happened to him if you like?" Katherine said quietly.

"No. I don't want to send out other people that could get hurt too while trying to find their way around at night, they just aren't ready for that yet," he replied.

"Then how about we go look for him? You know the general area he should have been in, right?" Katherine suggested.

"Actually, I like that idea. Just the two of us out in the woods again like we were back home…"

"Then that's what we'll do," Katherine said, "I'll go get my gear and we'll head out."

"Take your time, we'll need to let Javier, Kevin and Montgomery know what we're doing in case anyone comes looking for us in the camp," Richard replied.

"Okay. You go find them and let them know what's going on while I go get ready," Katherine said as she lifted herself up onto her toes and placed a chaste kiss on his lips, "I won't be long." With that she disengaged herself from around his arms and walked off to her shelter to grab her bow, knife and sword.

Richard moved off in the opposite direction, headed toward the section of the camp where he knew he would find Captain Montgomery, and if he was lucky, Javier too.

* * *

Captain Gates led his men through the woods, toward where he hoped the refugee camp was. He had miscalculated in how long he thought it would take him to find the camp. He had been certain in his own mind that they would find it before morning but, now, night had fallen and they still hadn't found it. He knew to a certain degree where it should be located… the problem was actually getting there. Richard and Katherine had obviously picked an area of the woods that would be harder to locate; deep inside the woods, surrounded by almost impassible bushes that were covered in thorns that ripped clothes and flesh alike.

He couldn't say he wouldn't have picked an area the same as that himself if he had been in their position as it limited the number of ways for anyone to enter it meaning it would be easier defended if the need arose. However, if it was like this on all sides then it also meant that there would only be one, or maybe limited, ways in and out. If there was only one way in or out then in the event of the camp being discovered and an attack being mounted against it, then everyone in that camp would be trapped there unless they received adequate warning.

"Richard and Katherine both know their way around the woods and forests, surely they wouldn't pick somewhere to hide everyone with no escape routes if the need arose…" he thought to himself as he walked along. He cursed softly as his hand got caught and grazed by yet another of the many thorns on the dense bushes they were trying to fight their way through. "Why the hell did you have to pick the most inhospitable area in these whole godforsaken woods to make your camp?" he cursed quietly to himself.

Shaking off his frustration he continued pushing through what he was fast considering to be the undergrowth from hell. It couldn't be too much further; these woods weren't _that_ big after all. Hours later, he and his men had escaped from the thorny undergrowth into a relatively clear area of the woods. He saw one of the scouts he had sent ahead hurrying back toward him and the rest of the squad.

"Voices coming from up ahead, Sir," the scout reported.

"Is it the camp or someone else?" Gates inquired.

"That's unclear Sir, or at least it was when I left," the scout said.

"Then why the hell did you come back with an incomplete report?" Gates demanded to know.

"We decided it was best to inform you of what we already knew Captain, One of the others was trying to get closer to where the voices were coming from when I left and will be returning here with a more complete report once he knows who it is and where exactly it's coming from. We thought it best to give you advance warning in case you were headed up the trail already," the scout said, as he tried to justify his being there.

"Right, well, let's get up there and find out what we're dealing with. Lead the way!" Gates said as he motioned to the rest of his men to get to their feet and ready to move out.

* * *

Josh looked around to make sure no-one was awake or could see him as he crept over towards the man they had caught earlier, this was a bad idea but he didn't see any other way… The man had proven surprisingly resilient to questioning all day and something had to change.

He crouched down next to the man and lightly shook his shoulder, his other hand clamped over the man's mouth as he did. "Shhh," he said quietly, "Don't make a sound or someone will hear you."

Almost imperceptibly the man nodded his head in agreement and Josh uncovered his mouth. "We need to get you out of here before they kill you. I overheard them talking earlier and they aren't too happy that you aren't giving them any information. I don't know what it is they want exactly and I don't really want to know, but I can't just sit idly by and let them kill you either," he said.

"Why are you helping me?" the man asked suspiciously, "You're with those soldiers from the city."

"I am," Josh defended, "But that doesn't mean I like to see innocent people tortured. I'm a healer, not a soldier, now be quiet and let's get you out of here."

Josh quickly cut the binds on the man's hands and feet and helped him to stand then led him out of the camp. Once they were a little way away he said, "I have to get back before they miss me, will you be okay on your own from here?"

The man nodded and replied, "I can find my way from here, thank you, I'll never be able to repay you for this kindness." Josh turned and headed back the way he had come while the man trudged through the woods in the direction of the camp.

Josh waited a few minutes and then turned to his left, "Well, do you think he bought it?" he said into the night air.

"I think he would have believed anything you told him," the soldier said as he stepped out of the shadows. As he did so, a second soldier also stepped out and followed along behind the man Josh had just set free.

* * *

Katherine met up with Richard, Captain Montgomery, Javier and Kevin a short time later. Her sword hung at her side and she had a quiver of arrows slung across her back, her bow hung from her left shoulder, where with one shrug it would be down her arm and into her hand at a moment's notice if required. Richard had just finished explaining to the others where they going and why when she walked over to join the group.

"Are you ready to go?" Richard asked her.

"Ready when you are," she replied with a small smile.

Richard picked up his bow from where it rested against a tree, "Then let's get moving, the sooner we find him the better. I hate to think of anyone spending time out there that doesn't have the proper skills to survive the night," he said and set off into the woods, Katherine right beside him.

Once they had left he camp, Katherine turned to Richard, "Are you sure you know where this man is?" she asked.

"Not exactly," he replied, "I know where he was supposed to be, but it's possible he's gotten turned around and can't find his way back to the camp."

"Right, okay. Well we'll just have to hope we can pick up on his trail and find him as quickly as we can then," Katherine said.

She and Richard moved out of the camp, waving to the guards stationed at the exit point. They had deliberately picked this area in the woods because of its dense, thorny underbrush and numerous, but well hidden, entrances and exits. The clinching point had been the semi-large glade in the center which now housed the healing area and also the portal back to Tribeca City.

Once out of the entrance and into the woods proper they picked up the pace, able to move quickly and quietly since it was only the two of them on this outing. She hadn't realized it until now but she found that she had missed this over the last weeks and months. Being out here in the woods again with her lover reminded her of home and of all that she missed about it. But this, this is what she missed the most.

Richard glanced over at her and found a huge grin on her face, "What's got you so happy?" he inquired of her.

"Nothing, I just now realized how much I miss this," she replied, "just the two of us, running free in the woods just like we always did back home."

Richard's face lit up, "I know what you mean," he said, "I've missed it too. As soon as we get back home and settled I'm taking you out hunting with me. Just the two of us for a whole week, running in the woods, hunting when we want to, swimming in the lakes and rivers and making love under the stars just like we did before."

"Promises, promises," Katherine replied, "I do like the sound of that though, especially the last part."

"Me too," Richard answered, "I can hardly wait until we get home. I've missed it just being the two of us."

Katherine stopped and Richard turned and walked back towards her when he realized she was no longer by his side. "Everything okay?" he asked, "Why did you stop?"

Katherine wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a long, deep, sensual kiss. When their lungs started burning with the lack of air, they reluctantly pulled apart, "I've missed you too," she said, "And as soon as we get home I intend to show you just how much, repeatedly."

Just as Richard was about to pull her back in for another kiss he heard movement behind him and quickly let go of his lover, indicating for her to remain silent. He drew his bow and following his lead, Katherine readied her own and looked at him quizzically.

Richard nodded his head in the direction he had heard the noise and the two of them moved off into the woods in the opposite direction. Using only a complex set of hand signals they had devised over their years together Richard indicated they should split up and circle around to either side of where he had heard the noise come from. Katherine nodded her head in agreement and the two set off in opposite directions, Richard taking the right and Katherine taking the longer route to the left.

* * *

The old man half ran-half stumbled through the trees as he tried to make his way back to the camp. Moving quietly was the last thing on his mind; he had to get back to warn Richard and the rest of the refugees at the camp about the soldiers moving through the woods trying to locate them. His clothes had ripped and his skin had been torn on the razor sharp thorns he forced himself through as he took the quickest route back to safety. Patches of blood – both old and new – had seeped through his clothes from the numerous cuts on his body – both from the thorns and the torture he had endured at the hands of the soldiers. He knew that if the healer hadn't helped him escape he would most likely be dead by now – or very close to it at least.

He pushed through into a small clearing and stumbled, not for the first time, on a hidden tree root and fell to the ground, hitting his knee on a half-buried rock that was protruding from the ground. He heard a pop and almost simultaneously felt an intense pain in his leg. He tried to get back to his feet and found he couldn't put any weight on his left leg. He glanced around and saw a fallen branch that he could use as a crutch; at least he would be able to walk in some small fashion with its help – even though the pain would be incredible. "At least the healers at the camp will be able to help once I get back," he thought to himself. He had dragged his body across the short distance until it was almost within his reach.

He froze when he heard the crack of a fallen twig or small branch snap; it appeared to have come from the other side of the clearing but he knew that out here sound could be deceiving. He felt fear mix with the pain from his injured leg; had the soldiers found him and come to torture him again? Surely they knew he was missing by now and would be looking for him. As he lay there unmoving three well-armed men, obviously soldiers by their look, stepped out of the trees, swords drawn and held at the ready.

Convinced that these were the soldiers he had escaped from he all but yelled at them in defiance, "I told you already, I won't tell you where the camp is! I'm not telling you a damn thing so you may as well just kill me now and get it over with!"

The soldiers turned to look at one another, incomprehension, confusion and worry etched onto their faces. One by one the soldiers lowered their weapons, but didn't put them into the scabbards at their sides just in case this was some ruse. They walked carefully over to the old man, spreading out as they did so to cover all of the angles. The lead soldier was about to reach the man when Richard's voice rang out from the trees behind them, "I wouldn't touch him if I were you, unless of course you wanted to grow a few more limbs… of the feathered variety."

The soldiers all jerked their swords back to the ready and turned, trying to see where the voice had come from. "Who are you? Show yourself!" the lead soldier cried out.

"Why would I show myself to three armed men who just advanced on an already injured man?" Richard's voice called out again, "Drop your weapons and then we'll talk."

"We don't mean the man any harm! We heard voices come from this area and were trying to see who it was. We haven't harmed him."

"I know you haven't," Richard said, "If you had you would all be dead already."

"You dare threaten the King's men?" one of the soldiers shouted.

"I threaten no-one," Richard said. "If you are indeed the king's men, then who is your commanding officer? Why are you here?"

"Relax Richard, these are indeed the king's men, and I am their commanding officer," Captain Victor Gates said as he stepped from the woods.

"Captain Gates, It's good to see you again. What are you doing here?" Richard said as he stepped out into plain view.

"It's good to see you again too. We're here looking for you actually, and I'm pretty sure that if you are here then your beautiful but deadly lady isn't too far away either," he said with a wry smile.

"Beautiful huh?" Katherine said with a grin as she dropped from the tree right behind where Gates stood, surprising him, "I think you should focus more on the deadly part, I could have killed you easily."

"Then I deserve to be dead," Gates said once he recovered from the initial surprise of Katherine's appearance, "And you three need to seriously brush up on your skills if you let these two get the drop on you so easily!"

"Don't be too hard on them Captain, It's not really their fault," Richard said, "We spend almost all of our time in the woods and they never stood a chance against us. We heard them coming from miles away."

"We also got the drop on you too remember, Captain," Katherine said cheekily, a huge grin spread across her face.

Captain Gates looked at the matching smirks on their faces and shot them a glare which only served to turn their smirks into full blown grins. He turned away from them in disgust and muttered to himself as he walked over toward his men. Katherine and Richard hurried over to their injured hunter and knelt on the ground next to him.

"Gregg," Richard said, "Gregg, what happened?"

"Richard, we need to warn the camp. Soldiers are in the woods looking for everyone that escaped the city," he answered.

Katherine looked at Richard, her face grim, but also determined; nothing was going to happen to the people in her care. "Where are the soldiers Gregg?" she asked the injured man gently.

"North of here. I was checking the snares like you asked me to," he answered, looking at Richard, "they just appeared in front me, I don't know where they came from. One minute I'm checking the snare and then there are these two soldiers stood right in front of me. I won't lie to you, I all but crapped in my pants and fell on my ass. I tried to run but I wasn't looking where I was going and ran straight into a tree."

"What happened after that?" Gates asked, "Did they capture you?"

"Yeah, I guess I hit myself into the tree so hard that I knocked myself out, when I woke up I was tied up in a camp surrounded by soldiers. They tortured me as soon as they saw I was awake, tried to make me tell them where the people from the city were hiding," he said, I didn't tell them anything though."

Gates, Richard and Katherine all locked gazes, knowing that if he had been captured and tied up there was no way he was escaping without help.

Richard looked down at Gregg, "How did you manage to get away?" he asked.

"They tortured me all day and when everyone went to sleep that night, the healer they had with them woke me up and untied me. He helped me escape. He said that he couldn't allow them to torture an innocent man," he answered.

Katherine shot Richard a worried look, "Gregg, this is important. Do you know the name of the healer? Can you remember what he looked like?"

"He never told me his name," Gregg answered after thinking for a moment, "but I heard one of the soldiers call him Josh while they thought I was still unconscious."

Katherine took in a sharp breath and shot Richard and Gates worried looks. "We need to warn the camp, Montgomery needs to know about the soldiers and about Josh," she said quickly.

Gregg looked at the three of them and said, "You know Josh? I don't understand, why do we need to warn the Captain? Josh set me free, they don't know where the camp is, it's safe."

Richard looked at Gregg sympathetically, "Gregg, Josh let you go so his soldiers could follow you. You led them right to us."

"What? No! Josh helped me, he saved my life and helped me escape," Gregg replied.

"No, Gregg. Josh is Lord Bracken's son, and those soldiers are under his command," Katherine told him, her hand resting on his shoulder gently.

Gates turned to one of his men, "Go fetch the rest of the squad, bring them here as fast as you can." He turned to the other two soldiers, "One of you stand watch and the other go find some long pieces of wood. We need to make this man a stretcher so we can move him back to the camp quickly, Once the rest of the men get here we can use some of the blankets from our packs so that he'll at least be comfortable as we move."

A short time later Gates' men returned and Katherine turned to him when she saw the soldiers pouring out of the woods and into the small clearing, "How many men do you have with you?" she asked.

"Sixty," he answered.

"Not that I'm not grateful for all the additional soldiers you brought with you," Richard said, "but what are you doing here?"

"I wondered when you'd get around to asking me that!" Captain Gates said, "The king apparently doesn't want any of his citizens in harm's way during the coming fight, so he dispatched me with my men to get them out of here and on to boats that should be waiting on the Harlem River to pull them back to a safe distance. They'll stay there until the fighting is over and then bring them back once it's safe for them again so they can rebuild their lives with the help of the army."

"Well you got here just in time it seems," said Katherine, "It looks like the fighting arrived at the exact same time you did."

"Ain't that the truth," Gates said, "But there was no way I could let that old dog Roy Montgomery have all the fun without me!"

The soldier sent to find wood came back a few moments later and set about taking blankets and twine from the packs of his own and another of the soldiers to construct a rough stretcher for the injured hunter, Gregg. Once they were ready and Gregg was safely ensconced inside, Gates ordered four of his men to carry him and turned to Richard and Katherine, "Let's get back to your camp, we have a fight to prepare for, and we need to get as many of these people out of harm's way as we can before Josh and his men arrive."

Richard and Katherine, along with Captain Gates moved to the front of the group of men and walked carefully back the way Katherine and Richard had come earlier, choosing the safest and most comfortable route they could find for Gregg's sake.

* * *

The soldier that followed Gregg had followed at a discreet distance, making sure he would never be seen by the would-be hunter. He used every trick he could think of, and by the time he fell and hurt his knee the soldier could have killed him where he lay if he didn't need him alive so badly. His leather armor helped to a certain degree, keeping most of the thorns from tearing into his skin, but it didn't stop everything. His hands were bloody, even with torn strips of cloth wrapped around them that he always carried with him for just this type of thing.

He watched with cold eyes as the three soldiers approached the fallen man, their swords drawn, and he wondered if they intended to kill him. When Richard's voice floated out of the trees he almost jumped out of his skin. And then the man Richard called Captain Gates showed up, closely followed by one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Things went from bad to worse when Gates sent his men off on different errands and another fifty or sixty soldiers showed up.

When they left the clearing to take the man back to the camp he followed warily, making sure that he didn't put a foot wrong, one wrong move and he was a dead men. He followed them all the way to the entrance of the camp and once he was certain this was their final destination he started to make his way back to his own camp, marking the way as discreetly as he possibly could so that he would be able to find his way back here.

Hours later, he arrived back at his own camp, tired and hungry. He went straight to Josh with his report, telling him all that he had seen and heard, and most importantly, the location of the camp where the citizens of the city were hiding.

Josh was exultant, he had the location of the camp, and even better than that, he knew that bitch Katherine and her lover Richard were there too. "Soon," he thought to himself, "I'm coming for you soon. And this time, you're not getting out alive."


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I apologize for the length of time between updates, this chapter was a nightmare to write. It's been completely re-written at least six times and large chunks of it have been revised or scrubbed and written again numerous times. I'm still not completely 100% happy with it but I also realized that given this is my first ever story that it's probably not going to get any better yet either so I'm content to put it out there and let you, my readers be the judge of it. A huge thanks once again to Meg and Sanctuaria for being great beta's, and also to all of you readers, both old and new. Please feel free to leave a review and tell me what you like or don't like about this chapter, and I promise to try to have the next one up soon :)**

* * *

The camp was a flurry of activity as people gathered their belongings in preparation to leave. Some had already left for the ships that waited to transport them to safety; leaving behind any belongings they had in their haste to escape the coming battle. Captains Gates and Montgomery had quickly set a plan in motion to ensure that as many civilians as possible were evacuated along a safe corridor that had been created using their combined forces. Richard and Katherine had contributed by talking to the hunters that were proficient at moving silently and using a bow and enlisted their help to cover as wide an area as possible to watch for the first signs of the approaching soldiers.

Richard and Katherine moved through the woods, retracing the steps they had so recently taken with Captain Gates, his men, and Gregg. They figured that Gregg had been followed by one of Josh's men after Josh had helped him 'escape.' They searched for any signs that they had been followed when they had left the clearing to escort Gregg and Captain Gates back to the refugee camp. They hadn't found anything so far, but that didn't mean they could relax, it could just mean that if anyone HAD followed them he was extremely good at covering his tracks. To be fair, the tracks left by sixty armed men would make it easy to hide pretty much anything, especially when said sixty men weren't used to moving through the woods stealthily. However, Richard and Katherine had to operate under the assumption that the camp had been, or soon would be, discovered.

They were back at the clearing inside of an hour, having found no evidence that the squad had been followed earlier. The most logical place to begin their search was where Gregg had appeared in the clearing earlier and subsequently injured himself. If someone had been following him then he had to have been able to see him and should have left some sort of trail for them to follow. They split up and scouted the surrounding area, being careful to keep each other in sight the whole time; losing sight of each other and being picked off one at a time wasn't an option. They could easily follow Gregg's movements back to the camp that Josh had used to hold him, but there was always a chance that he wouldn't be there any more so they checked the immediate area and then began to steadily expand their search area.

They searched everywhere; tree trunks, undergrowth, Richard even went so far as to look for signs in the canopy of the trees above his head, not wanting to take a chance that he could miss something. Sometime later Katherine signaled silently to Richard indicating that she had found something and Richard walked over to join her. She pointed to the tree she was stood next to and indicated with a nod of her head towards it. There, on the trunk of the tree was a small notch in the bark, possibly caused by a weapon when someone had leaned against the tree in an attempt to remain hidden. He looked down at the ground, near the base of the tree and saw how the undergrowth had been disturbed; not greatly, but enough to indicate that someone had been there within the last few hours. It also screamed out to him that whoever had been there was good, but not great, at moving stealthily. They would probably be able to move around a town or city, maybe even a village without being detected but weren't really suited to the woods or a forest.

Richard looked around the surrounding area, trying to determine which way he had gone. After a few short moments he pointed and Katherine nodded, pleased that his assessment matched her own and they set off in search of Josh and his men.

* * *

"As soon as people leave their shelters I want them dismantled," Montgomery told his assembled men. "We need a clear killing ground for our archers and we can use the wood from the shelters to create barricades. I want barricades set up at each entry point into the camp, the more we can slow the enemy down the better chance for our archers to pick them off and leave us less to face in open combat."

The mutters of 'yes sir' could still be heard as he called out after his men, "And use some of those shrubs with the thorns on them, might as well make it fun to watch them try to dismantle the barricades," he said with a wicked grin. His men laughed and went about their appointed tasks.

Roy left his men to work and made his way through the camp to where Javier, Kevin and Lanie waited in the clearing. He knew Javier wasn't going to like the assignment he was about to give him, hell none of them were going to be happy, he thought to himself. But with Rick and Kate out scouting for Josh and his men he felt the need to try and protect as many of their friends as he possibly could.

Roy had come to have a deep, abiding respect for Javier since he had come to East Village. He had immediately taken to helping Kate with her training without being asked, proven himself in battle when defending the village, and then later when he had volunteered to join Richard and Katherine in the search for Alexis. In Javier he saw a younger version of himself and would like nothing more than to have the man beside him in the coming fight, but with Rick and Kate out hunting he had no other choice. He arrived in the clearing and made his way over to where the three friends stood waiting for him.

As soon as Javier saw his friend and mentor he was all business, "What do you need from us Sir?"

Roy decided to get the easier of the assignments he had in mind out of the way first, "Kevin," he began, "I need you and your fellow magicians to hold the portal open until the last possible moment. If my men and I get overrun then you close that portal and transport yourselves and anyone left here back to Tribeca. Understood?"

"Understood," he answered, "But…"

"Look, I know you probably want to be here with your friends," Roy said cutting him off. "But I'm not going to risk you and possibly have to tell Master Jordan how I got her favorite apprentice killed. So you are leaving even if I have to get someone to knock you senseless and throw you through that portal. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes Captain," Kevin replied, clearly not happy with his orders but still a little proud at being labeled the Masters favorite.

"Lanie," Roy said, turning to the diminutive healer, "How many healers do you have here now?"

"Twenty plus me," she answered immediately.

Roy thought for a moment before continuing, not sure how she would react. He decided to just come right out with it and then fight his case afterwards. "I want you find three volunteers to stay here in case any of my men are injured, Kevin will get them out of here after closing the portal. Then I want you to choose two of your colleagues and go through the portal with the sick and wounded, the rest will be going to the ships with everyone else," he said.

Lanie looked him straight in the eye and answered him, "I'll do as you ask with one change – I'm not leaving. I'll find you three to go through the portal and two more volunteers to stay behind, but I'm not leaving."

"Lanie, these people need you, they trust you," Roy said, beginning his argument.

"I'm not leaving," Lanie said.

Roy turned pleading eyes on Javier who started to turn toward Lanie. Before he could even open his mouth Lanie glared at him, "Don't you even think about trying to make me leave Javier Esposito, especially if you ever want this again," she said.

Javier's mouth dropped open, then closed, and he turned to face Montgomery again, "Sorry boss," he said.

Lanie turned back to look at the captain with a satisfied grin on her face knowing that she would be getting her own way.

Roy just shook his head and pointed his finger at Kevin, "You make damn sure that you get her out of here, I'm not going to be the one to explain to Kate how she got herself killed!"

Kevin gulped and bobbed his head up and down rapidly. He didn't want to have to face Kate if that happened either, or Jenny for that matter.

Satisfied that his instruction would be carried out Roy Montgomery turned his attention back to Javier. He knew his order wouldn't be accepted well but he was determined that it would be carried out. "Javier, I need you to be part of the escort group getting the refugees to those ships," he said, "And before you say anything I need you to understand something."

Javier looked at his captain, a hurt expression on his face, as if he had been betrayed by his mentor but didn't say anything.

"These people need you. Kate and Rick would have been ideal for this, but with them out assessing how many soldiers are coming against us I have no-one else I can entrust this to. Kevin and Lanie are both going to be needed here, that just leaves you. The people don't know Victor Gates or his men, and they have learned not to trust soldiers and won't go willingly unless there is someone with them that will vouch for the Captain and his men. You are the only person left that can do this. You earned their unconditional trust when you and Kate sorted out that mess in the kitchens and you especially when you hung that murderer."

He placed his hand on Javier's shoulder, "Look I know this is hard to accept and that you want to fight son, and believe me I wish I could have you at my side, but there is no other way. I have no-one else I can ask to do this that the people would listen to."

Javier deflated and nodded in defeat, he knew that the captain was right. He didn't like it, but what he said made sense. "Okay," he said. "I don't like it, but I can see that you're right."

Montgomery nodded, he knew the man was disappointed and he felt bad for asking this of him, but it was the right thing to do. "Captain Gates is going to give you command of some of his men whilst the rest form a corridor for you to get the people through," he said, "I need you to bring up the rear of the group and make sure that everyone gets to the ship safely. Once they all get there Gates and his men are going to come back here and help us deal with Josh and his men."

Javier nodded, "Okay, where do I meet up with Gates' men and how can I be sure that they'll do what I tell them?" he asked.

"They are waiting at the edge of the camp, right at the beginning of the corridor leading to the ships. They'll do what you say because if they don't then Gates will string them up himself for insubordination. That, and they know all about you already. Victor told them all about your chase across the country to get Alexis back, and I told them what you had done at the docks in the city. All the men that you will be commanding are hand-picked, there were so many volunteers Gates had to turn a lot of them down. You, Rick and Kate are like heroes to them after what you have done."

Javier looked up startled at what he'd just heard and Montgomery continued, "What you did saved a lot of lives son. I know it was hard and you may never forgive yourselves for it, but it was necessary. Think of all the people in this camp and of the king's soldiers who will get to go home to their families, that's a lot of people who owe you their lives."

He started to head back to his men to oversee their preparations for the coming battle but before he did he turned, "Good luck, I'm proud of you. All of you." With that he turned and walked away leaving three stunned friends watching as he went to prepare for battle.

* * *

Josh was frustrated, he and his men weren't even halfway to the camp yet and he had already lost eight of his men; six picked off by arrows that seemingly came out of nowhere and at random times. The last time two of his men had fallen he had sent out six of his men to find and kill whoever was out there. Only four came back; the others had been found hanging from a tree by the ropes they carried in their own packs. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that he knew exactly who was killing his men, but couldn't understand why they were letting him live. One thing he knew for certain; they needed to get to that camp and they had to get their fast.

"Pick up the pace, I've had enough of these games!" he growled at his men.

He started to trot along behind the scout that had followed and tracked the idiot hunter he had let go the night before. The thorny underbrush in this area was a nightmare and he was glad that he had changed out of his usual robes and into leather before leaving camp.

By the time they reached the clearing he had lost four more men; including the scout, and he concluded that Katherine and Richard were toying with and taunting him. When the last flight of arrows had come he had been trotting along with a soldier on either side of him. One had fallen with an arrow through his throat and the other with an arrow where his eye used to be. The one with the arrow through his throat had been the scout and the other was the officer who normally commanded this squad of men. Josh had just carried on, following the route to the clearing that he had memorized from the scouts report. From there it would be easy to find the camp; sixty armed men carrying one injured hunter would leave a path even a blind man could follow.

* * *

Richard and Katherine trotted back into camp and went directly up to Montgomery. He saw them coming and hurried over to meet them, questions coming out of his mouth, demanding answers before he even got halfway.

"How long before they get here? How many are there? Does he have archers? What kind of armor are they wearing?" he asked.

Richard looked at Katherine and smiled at how the usually calm Captain of a sleepy little village was more military commander preparing for battle right now.

"They just reached the clearing, and there aren't as many now as there was when we found them," Richard said.

"He used to have archers but he doesn't anymore, and they are wearing leather armor. No heavy armor at all," Katherine added.

Montgomery glared at them, "What do you mean he used to have archers but now he doesn't? And you still haven't told me how many men we have coming against us," he said.

"Well," Katherine said," When we found him he had about a hundred men…"

"And we thinned his ranks a little to slow him down…" Richard continued.

"We saw about ten with bows as we counted them…" said Katherine.

"So we decided to remove that threat," added Richard.

"And another two that he sent after us are still swinging from the trees somewhere back there," said Katherine, motioning off into the distance behind her with her hand.

"So let me get this straight," Montgomery said incredulously, "You see a hundred armed men and decide to play with them. Kill all of their archers and then hang two of the men sent after you just for good measure?"

Katherine and Richard turned and looked at each other and smiled before turning back to the captain.

"Uh huh," said Richard.

"Mmhmmm," said Katherine at the exact same time.

Roy Montgomery shook his head in disbelief, "I'm glad you're on my side," he said with a huge grin on his face. "How long before they get here do you think?"

Richard thought about it for a moment, "They were moving pretty fast, so maybe thirty minutes. Unless they decide to take it a bit slower now they are nearer the camp. They won't want to run into an ambush, especially now they know we'll be waiting for them."

"That makes sense," Montgomery replied. "Let's go wait for them then shall we?"

They walked over to where Montgomery had decided to command the battle from. "I just have one question," he said, "Why didn't you put an arrow between Josh's eyes when you had the chance?"

"Because when I kill him I want him to see it was me that did it, I want him to know that I could have killed him at any time I liked, but I let him live so I could kill him with my sword," replied Richard, his face a barely controlled mask of suppressed anger.

* * *

Josh backhanded the man he was facing and stabbed him in the side as he stumbled back and immediately turned, looking for any sign of Katherine. All around him was chaos; the battle in a constant state of flux. He had to hand it to the defenders, they were heavily outnumbered, but they fought as a unit making it difficult for him and his men to put their superior numbers to good use.

He saw Katherine put one of his men down with a wicked slash to his hamstring that was quickly followed up with a downward stab of her sword and started to make his way toward her. He was picking his way through the chaos when his forward momentum was impeded by the considerable bulk of Richard. The look on his face was one of blind hatred and Josh wondered if he had perhaps made a mistake when he had given the order to have Alexis taken. Richard didn't say a word; he just swung his sword at Josh's head, which he barely managed to deflect in time.

Josh knew he was severely overmatched in the strength department; Richard was well known for being able to carry a deer carcass for miles. But, he thought, if he played it smart and let Richard wear himself down, while at the same time trying to keep himself from being decapitated, then maybe he would have a chance of surviving this. The blows Richard rained down on him hurt his arms as he defended himself but he knew this fight wouldn't last long; he had almost dropped his sword a few times already, but the worst thing was that Richard's rage was lessening and he was becoming more analytical in his attacks.

He parried another blow from Richard's sword as he thought furiously for something, anything, which would distract Richard. He needed to end this fast, he knew he wouldn't be able to keep up this defense for very long; Richard's anger, his rage, were fuelling his attacks and seemed to be giving him the strength to continue without slowing down.

"How is Alexis? Is she glad to be back home?" he gritted out to Richard between blows.

The effect was immediate, Richard's face contorted in fury and hatred, "Don't you talk about Alexis! Don't even mention her name!"

"Such a pretty thing," he said. "My men were severely disappointed they weren't allowed to touch her. But I needed her alive and whole you see. It was never about Alexis, she was just a means to an end."

"I told you not to talk about her!" Richard said coldly as he launched another attack that Josh barely avoided.

'_It's working,' _Josh thought, '_Just a little more prodding, more baiting.'_

"Alexis would have been safe at home, but I needed to draw you away from the village." Josh told him, "This was never about her."

Richard's attack faltered in his moment of surprise, "This is about me?" he asked, the shock evident in his voice.

"Not about you either," Josh spat out, "But where you go, your bitch of a girlfriend goes too." With that he launched his first attack of the fight, throwing punishing blow after punishing blow down on the confused Richard.

* * *

The fury and surprise of the sudden attack caught Richard off guard and forced him back as he sought to defend himself from the onslaught. He realized the mistake he made by listening to Josh, but he just couldn't help himself, he needed to know why Alexis had been taken. He just hoped it wasn't a fatal mistake. To find out that this had been about Kate this whole time, and that both he and Alexis had been used as pawns in some game both confused and infuriated him.

He ducked beneath a slash of Josh's sword that would have left him shorter by a head and threw himself at Josh, his sword slipping from his fingers as he drove them both to the ground. He sat on top of Josh, legs straddling either side of his body. He rained blow after blow down on Josh's head with his fists, ignoring the pain of his now bruised and bloody knuckles. Josh tried desperately to deflect them with his arms, only partially succeeding. Richard's fist crashed into his face and he heard the satisfying crack of his nose breaking while at the same time feeling a sharp pain in his side.

Richard looked down at his side and saw the dagger, sticking out from between his ribs, buried, almost to the hilt. "Damn," was all he managed to say before his eyes rolled back in his head and Josh pushed him away from him.

* * *

Katherine cast a quick glance around her after dispatching another of Josh's men; the battle seemed to be turning in their favor. She hoped that meant that Captain Gates's men that had been left behind to oversee the evacuation of the magicians and healers had at last joined the fray. As she looked around she caught sight of something that made panic rise in her chest and her blood run cold; Richard lying unmoving on the ground and Josh standing over him with his sword in his hand.

"Rick!" she screamed, and ran toward her fallen lover.

Josh turned to face in the direction he had heard the scream come from, his face contorted into some sort of maniacal glee when he saw her running in his direction. He brought his sword up at the ready for another fight as she crossed the battlefield, ignoring the fighting as it raged all around her. He knew Katherine wouldn't be as easy to wind up as Richard. He also knew she was much better with a sword than Richard would ever be. He could still take her though, she wasn't that good.

Katherine stopped short when she saw him standing there, between her and Richard, waiting for her with a smile on his face. She brought her sword up in front of her, ready for the attack when it came, while still edging closer to where Richard lay. Her eyes flicked across to Richard, saw the dagger protruding from his side and knew this would need to be quick – if it wasn't already too late. When she looked back to Josh, she saw his nose had been shattered and his face was badly swollen and bruised. She felt a little satisfaction that Richard hadn't gone down easily.

"Finally!" Josh said, "You're finally here, and with no boyfriend to protect you. I can end this at last!"

"End what Josh?" Katherine said, "What is all this about?"

"It's about you," Josh spat, "You and your family, you bitch!"

"What does my family have to do with anything?" Katherine asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Everything!" Josh shouted.

Katherine just looked at him in bewilderment, even more confused than before. "My family has been dead for fifteen years Josh. How can this have anything to do with them?"

"My brother was part of the raid that your family was killed in," Josh said. "Your father killed him!"

"You expect me to feel sorry for someone that killed my parents!?" Katherine shouted at him as she slowly began to circle around him, "You're crazy."

"No," Josh said. "He was just another casualty of war."

"Then what Josh? What is this all about really?"

"When we found out my brother had been killed, my mother took the news hard. She locked herself away in her room and wouldn't see anyone, not even me. For months she sat in that room, until one day she asked to see me. I went to her room and she made me promise that I would find whoever killed my brother and make them pay for it – then she threw herself from the window!"

"How is that my fault Josh?" she asked, shocked by what he had just told her.

"You're the last remaining member of your family, the only person left that I can punish." With that he launched his attack.

* * *

Katherine was ready for him; she blocked his attack easily, letting his sword slide along hers until the cross guards locked. As their swords tangled she spun and threw an elbow at his head, catching him on the cheek. Josh stumbled back, pain flaring in his face once more, their swords sliding apart as he moved backward. Katherine took advantage of his stumble and feigned an attack to her left. As Josh hurriedly tried to block the attack Katherine flicked her wrist and changed the direction of the attack, bringing her sword down in an arc and felt satisfaction as it bit deep into his thigh.

Josh's leg gave way beneath him and he let out a howl of pain and frustration. He sank to his knees as Katherine came to stand before him. His sword fell from his hand as Katherine looked down at him.

"Your family has caused so much pain and suffering in these lands. They killed my family, you kidnapped my best friend, my boyfriend is lying there in a pool of his own blood with your dagger between his ribs – tell me, why should I feel sorry for your family?"

Josh looked at her, hatred and defiance written all over his face, "Screw you bitch!"

Katherine flicked her sword out, the point slicing deep across the Josh's throat.

"You talk too much," she said as his eyes rolled back in his head and his body crumpled, and fell to the side.

She didn't even spare him a second glance as she ran to Richard and fell to her knees at his side. She felt for a pulse; it was there, but it was faint. "Don't leave me, please. Stay with me. OK. Rick, I love you. I love you Rick."


End file.
